Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-19
BEACH LIFE GUARDS
Why Medical Students Are Pre-
ferred for Positions.
REVIVING THOSE RESCUED
Best Swimmers Give Guards the
Greatest Trouble.
WOMEN CALMER THAN MEN
Incidents in the Careers Of 0ld-Time
Life Savers-The Little Grey Lady
With the Brunette Wig.
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star.
The two remarkable life-saving operations
few weeks ago-one off the coast of Rhode
Island, where the bather had been under
water twenty-three minutes, and the other
at Atlantic City, where the period under
water was eighteen minutes-are explained
by professional life savers only proof of
the great progress made in applying scfen-
fife methods toward resuscitating persons
taken out of the water.
There is a good deal Of the melodramatic
about life saving at the beaches. rescue
is thrilling and it always will be; but there
Is something required besides courage. AL
most any cool-headed. athletic and plucky
young man can effect a rescue. 1t takes
science-knowledge Of anatomy, physiology,
one almost might say of medicine Itself
to bring about resuscitation after the victim
is brought out without futter Of the pulse
and with lungs and stomach filled with wa
ter. That is the reason why medical stu
dents stand q better chance of getting posi-
tons as life guards at summer resorts than
any other class of men.
OF course the day of the "old salt" has
not passed There are veterans in the life
saving business. The keeper of the life
saving station at Long Beach, "Cap'n
Schenck, has been there for thirty years.
But he stays there the year round and Is
the nucleus Of the corps that is formed In
the summer months. E. c. Hunt, captain
Of the life guards at Manhattan Beach. has
been dragging venturesome swimmers out
Of the surf for eighteen years. But the
rank and file of the guards are made up OF
young men, for the most part medical stu
dents who earn money during the vacation
season to defray their expenses through
college.
The average pay is $50 montr. and the
boys earn it. At Manhattan Beach the
hours are from o'clock in the morning
until at night. At Long Beach the patrol
is out night and day, working by shifts.
This is done because the life guards at
this point have to look out for wrecks as
well as rash bathers. At Atlantic City the
patrol Is out from daybreak until dark.
Systematic Lookout.
Everything Is system. and the watchword
is keen lookout for any one in distress.
The guards along the beach where bathers
are numerous are stationed about $50 feet
apart. The regulations require that they be
attired only in bathing suits. except in the
chilly days OF autumn, when they can
throw overcoats around their shoulders.
They are not permitted to wear shoes. They
must be standing by or seated in the life
boat all the time, with the life buoy and
coiled rope within easy reach.
There is plenty Of strain about the busi-
ness" said Capt. Hunt Of the Manhattan
Beach life guards you can imagine what
it means to stand all day with your eye
peeled on the surf with hundreds In bathing
at once. After man has been at 1t TOT
while he gets to be an expert in detecting
signs Of distress. Few persons have any Idea
that we keep practically every bather un-
der surveillance from the time his feet
touch the water. We don't wait till man
goes down for the third time in order to
get our warning.
"You see, large majority Of those who
drown don't die from drowning at all.
,Iu tia Trio h1Yn h1,f f0ntt
They die from heart failure. A person with
a weak heart should never attempt to swim
alone. Human being are nothing but pieces
Of machinery, and you never can tell when
we'll it's built. We keep a sharp eye out
for those who have weak hearts. Fortu-
nately, it is easy to pick them out. Water
Of the temperature IN this latitude gives
II his heart is weak his lips gets blue at
the start. We keep that chap in mind until
he goes to his dressing ROOM
Several years ago robust man, rather
stout, in fact, came out here. We noticed
when he took his first plunge that he
showed blue at the lips. and we watched
him closely. He was a good swimmer, and
he struck out bravely: Everything seemed
to be all right. Finally he turned over on
his back when he was about 200 feet out
and began floating. He tossed about on the
and that seemed peculiar after few min
utes. He kept coming in. but always NOV
ing further down the beach The case
seemed SO strange that we ran the lifeboat
out to him. We found he was dead. When
| we tried the usual methods Of resuscitation
on him we saw he had swallowed no water
and therefore could not have drowned. It
| was simply case Of a weak heart.
Good Swimmers Are the Victims.
You have heard the old adage that it
is usually the good swimmer that gets
| drowned. I wish I could contradict the
saying, but I can't. It's true. Part Of 1t
| is due to reckiessness and part Of 1t to a
| weak heart. A great many athletes have
| weak hearts. And they fail to make the
discovery until they have gone too far
out Then their hearts give out. Frequent
| ly 1t Is a case of nerves. A good swimmer
| likes to show off. There is nothing that
pleases him better than to get out about
100 yards. He isn't SO pleased when he
turns around and sees how far he has to
| swim to get back The tide may be against
him. and he may have little fight with a
counter current. Then he goes all to pieces
from mere fright He loses his head and
begins to expend his strength in wild floun-
dering, and then we have to go out on
hurry call. He Is lucky II we get there in
time.
This may seem like a broad statement
but I contend that any strong man who
knows how to swim even fairly we'll has
no no. business snz u drowning unless he has been
| from chill and exhaustion. People drown
because they lose their heads. It requires
almost no exertion to keep ahoat in sea
water. One hand can sustain a man. II
cramps come all you have to do is to turn
on your back. Cramps attack the legs, and
| II you turn on your back and paddle with
| most cases. But the trouble Is that most
persons get excited when facing q big
| breaker or when they see they have swum
| farther than they thought, and their nerve
deserts them.
women are easier to rescue than men,
They instinctively repose ffaith in a man
who comes to help them and our task is
easy. A man usually puts up a hard fight
| and, strange to say. the best swimmers are
| the worst fighters.
Didn't Want to Be Rescued.
'Once had one woman who refused to be
rescued heard her give a shrek and at
! once plunged in. She was plump woman