Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-30
Cullen Tells Why Good Swimmers Drown

baskets Of that sort being borne under the
Observation-Disclosures SO as not to arouse the
emotions of folks on the Boardwalk-fre-
quently before. Always before they had
contained drowned persons, and always
before the sight had impressed me with
the same sense of grisliness, which now
seemed to take the brightness out OF the
strong sunshine
The policeman guided the four beach
guards carrying the wicker basket to
where Connecticut avenue reaches the
Boardwalk. The undertaker's wagon
was waiting there. The basket was put
into the undertaker's wagon, the silent,
awed little crowd that had watched the
procession dispersed with blue faces.
One Of the beach guards. man l
know, lounged toward me after having
been relieved of his share of the burden
Of the wicker basket.
"D'ye know who was in that basket"
he asked me, jerking his thumb in the
direction of Connecticut avenue. along
which the undertaker's wagon already
was progressing briskly
NO" said I.
why" said the guard, hes that fine
looking party with the gray mustache
you was talking with a few minutes ago.
Went to his bathroom and started to take
off his wet suit and fell right back on the
seat. as dead as doornail. Just fell
back ker-smack dead! Heart disease, the
doctor that came said. Quick finish, eh
Did you know him."
1 muttered a perfunctory word or two
and came away. Somehow 1 don't care
for that stretch Of beach any more and
now / am bathing elsewhere.
4
1t is a noticeable and striking fact that
the great majority Of persons who are
drowned in the sea at places like At
lantic City are frst-rate swimmers l be-
lieve that most of them are drowned be-
cause they over-exert themselves in the
water SO that their hearts simply stop
beating. There surely was something the
matter with the heart of this man of
whom 1 have been writing, and he was
tweaking the chin of fate In disregard
ing his physicians orders. 1t SO hap
pened that he died after leaving the
water But / am led to believe after
long observation, that more men die of
heart collapse in the surf than from
drowning.
Very often such cases are attributed to
'cramp.' But it is fact we'll known
that the proportion OF persons who surfer
from cramp in sea water is vastly small
err than those who are clutched by that
direful trouble in fresh water. The At
lantic ocean at this season is warm and
there seems to be something In the
quality Of salt water which operates
against the cramping which Is common
in fresh water.
I have seen a great many men drown.
here and elsewhere, and In nearly every
case the drowned person had been palpa-
bly, OVERRIDING the exertion before being
caught by his moment of exhaustion and
surrendering to the inevitable.
There is such a thing as a perfectly
good heart rebelling against terrific and
unwonted exertion. Men come to place
like Atlantic City after leading sedentary.
soft lives and they plunge into the
water very often when they are overhead
ed or very much too soon after they have
partaken OF heavy meals, and atop of
all this, keen with the desire to prove
their strength as swimmers to themselves
or to others, they take deadly chances.