Evening star., 1915-06-07
SAFEGUARDING BATHBRS.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

On the bathing beach at Coney Island
this year may be seen sunburnt man.
accompanied by two big. shaggy dogs,
keeping restless watch upon the throng
of bathers No swimmer in distress
escapes the notice of these three life
savers, who have a number of difficult
rescues to their credit. The most
spectacular of these. perhaps. was the
saving of three occupants of rowboat
which turned over nearly mile from
shore. The man led the way on the
long swim, and he and the two dogs
each held up an unconscious body un-
til the boats from the pier could reach
them.
This man is a life-saver under pri-
vate auspices. and there is a romance
to account for the fact. Years ag" he
was a ragged gamin on the New YORK
water front-a typical wharf rat as
much at home in the water as on tine
street A small boat one day pulled
out from the pier bound for yacht
at anchor. A child leaned too far
overheard and fell into the water un-
noticed by any but the ragged BOY on
the dock. He reached the spot in rev
swift strokes. dived and brought up the
drowning boy. He was we'll paid for
his pluck and went his way.
That was several years ago. and now
comes the romance. which reads like
one in a book. The boy VINO was res
cued found his rescuer by the merest
chance. last winter. in the New York
breadIine. The swimmer was va
grant. common tramp. His strength
and courage in the water were his only
assets. So an arrangement was made
with the authorities BY which he be-
came an unofficial patrol at Coney
Island
The United states leads the world in
the measures taken to rescue persons
from drowning. The federal life -sav.
ing service. under the jurisdiction OF
orga nized in the world. but its efforts
are confined to certain localities. Mu-
nicipal and local life-saving efforts,
many of them under private auspices,
are increasing each year in every To-
cality in which a possibility of drown
ing exists. City bathing pools. water
ing places and inland river banks are
becoming so well protected that when
a case of drowning occurs 1t is no long
er taken for granted as being unavoid- :
able, but prompt Investigation is
made.
A large number of rescuers are self
appointed and many of these have long
lists of rescues to
Many Rescuers their credit. St,
A. u-,. Joseph. Mo. pos
0Ae 'oiuAIeeiS. sesses a river hero
named Jack Ring, who is credited
with having saved 3o1 lives. includ-
ing those of forty boys and twenty
five women. The rest were men. one
of whom weighed $50 pounds. and al
most cost the life of his rescuer. Jack
1T al h
for a mile of river front since 1873.
He claims to know the current so well
that he can estimate the suction upon
the body of a drowning person and
thus strike the exact location OF 1t
under the water without loss of time.
Ring is a small man and not overgen-
tie in his methods. If the person he
is trying to rescue attempts to strug-
gle he promptly strikes him a bioW
on the head which knocks him sense
less Ring Is one of the most popular
men in ST. Joseph. He is kept sup
piled with his favorite brand OF tobac-
co and is in constant receipt Of gifts
from grateful persons who owe him
their lives.
Dogs play a prominent part in the
fe-saving work Of many seaside re-
sorts. At Atlantic City for years a
force of trained dogs has been main
life guards. These faithful animals are
especially valuable in rescuing child
bathers who have gotten beyond their
depths or have become panic stricken
and therefore unable to care for them
selves. At Cape May a resident kept
Ave large animals at his own expense
because they had voluntarily taken
upon themselves the patrol of the
beach. They were all stray dogs which
had happened along when there was
need of their service and by prompt ac-
tion won a good home. At Revere
Beach, Mass, number of dogs be-
longing to wealthy residents In the
vicinity are to be seen upon the beach
during most hours of the day. their
keen senses ever on the alert to note
need for their services
Dogs are being regularly trained IN
a number Of places to render life-sav-
ing service. At Atlantic City a num-
ber of dogs now regularly attached to
the life guard service have been reared
to the work, and are descended from
parents who did valiant rescue work.
A Pennsylvania man has established
a dog collegA in which one branch of
the training given consists in drills
for efficient rescue work. These dogs
ars trained to make a long leap from
the shore when a drowning person is