The San Francisco call., 1906-07-29

~ SWIMMING We're not as useful
as il is enjoyable. or il il were
noisy and brought on lockjaw, or
n II It had not already been tabled
among the rhymes of Mother Goose so
that none dare 10 make light Of it. the
sumner record OF 1906 would probably
raise as comprehensive an outery as
that which RACES against fireworks and
toy pistols. for there has not been
day since several days before the
Fourth Of July that has not written
many epitaphs over its victims and
carried the sorrow Of tragedy-ending
pastimes into homes and families.
From the Willamette in Oregon to
the quiet surf at Coronado the story
has been the same. A hot day, swim
in the cool water. cramps and a sudden
Eood-by 10 daylight and friends and
iabOrs and hopes.
Now and then an attempt at rescue.
sometimes a bit OF heroism, but usually
g grave in the place where most people
never count upon being buried. II the
body is rescued the relatives are for
tunate, for IN most cases Of recent note
there has been no such good luck. Not
only has there been a death. but there
has not been even the satisfaction Of
a partially dismembered body to follow
10 its resting place
All sorts OF streams. pools. surfs and
other waters have done the drowning.
with the preponderance Of casualties in
the deep rivers OF the Pacific Northwest.
The Willamette. for example. has car
ried away the Ufe OF the well known
California athlete and football player,
Walter F. Smock: almost claimed that
of another California athlete, Sam
Stowe: drowned a Mrs Maria Parks in
the presence of her husband and a Miss
Anna Hartman in the presence of her
fance, and sucked under river barge
q daring iron worker who attempted a
foolhardy dive because he was chal-
lenged. Lake Washington, the beauti-
fuI body OF water which lies in the
outskirts of Seattle and which some
DAY is to be a fresh water harbor for
the American navy. has covered into
its depths picnic party Of three men
who sank so near the shore Of a pleas
u-e park that the people at the latter
could throw a stone to the boat yet
could not reach the spot in time foI
rescue.
Strangely enough, country the very
opposite Of oregon ana Washington has
afforded the second largest number ot
asualties-namely. the interminably
hot. dry and barren lands of the Colo
rado-lands where. indeed, no one /:
10 be blamed il he seeks the cool ot
the river in spite Of all its known
treachery and its long blacklist of dead
A muddy. swirling stream is the Colo
rado as II passes along the boundary
between California and Nevada, and
Quicksands cover its bed TO such ar
extent that only the strongest swim.
mers venture into it. Round about ths
Fourth Of July. perhaps in the exhilara-
ton OF the season. many made the ven
ture. and in three days there were
three downings at the one point, Nee.
dies. A fourth casualty was partic.
ularly pathetic. as IL carried away g.
year-old boy who was sitting on the
bank fishing. Utterly without warn
ing the waters swept in under him and
washed out the clay on which he wa,
sitting. The poor little lad was never
found. and his parents were left L
grieve without even the satisfaction o.
having his body to bury.
Quite as pathetic as the last incident
although farther away from San Fran
cisco. was that Of the seven little girl,
OF Cedar Rapids. Iowa who lost theii
lives while engaged in a harmless sum
mer afternoon wading. The water,
were supposed to be shallow. and III,
play was at it's height when suddenl,
one of the girls sank below her depth
She had stepped into a sinkhole Quick
u the girl nearest 10 her rushed Il
save her. but only to slip into the sam,
hole and be drowned. One after an
other the entire seven girls of tn,
party fell into the same place Will.
thus trying to rescue each other, ans
none OF them were saved. Iowa ha.
known no sadder childrens story. ant
Cedar Rapids has never hushed it.
voice and daily noise so thoroughly al
Il did in sympathy with these children.
parents.