Swimmer

“ The swimmer plunges into a quiet pool, the snowy froth that masks the reefs seeming only the pretty fringe of sentient life to a sleeping sea; but presently an invisible hand reaches up and grasps him, an unseen power drags him exultingly out to the main—and he returns no more. ”

“ I have always thought that to swim thus with steady and deliberate arm action, the water parting at the chin and rising just to the root of the underlip, was the most dignified and manly attitude the human being could put himself in. Cow-fashion was a burlesque of this, and the swimmer reared out of water with each stroke, creating tidal waves. It was thought to be vastly comic. Steamboat-fashion was where a fellow swam on his back, keeping his body up by a gentle, secret paddling motion with his hands, while with his feet he lashed the water into foam, like some river stern-wheeler. ”

“ Good for you, Bristles; I said you had it in you to make a swimmer, if only you'd keep everlastingly at it. Every boy who goes on the water, either in a boat, or to skate, ought to know how to swim. It may save his life, or the life of a chum some day. But those fellows ought to come out, or they'll get blue around their lips, for the water is icy cold. ”

“ When the swimmer prepares to dive, he must take a full inspiration of air, the eyes must be kept open, the back made round, and the head bent forwards on the breast; the legs must be thrown out with force, and the arms and hands, instead of being struck forward as in swimming, must move backward. When the swimmer would ascend, the chin must be held up, the back bent inwards, the hands struck out high and brought sharply down, and the body will immediately rise to the surface of the water. ”

“ Clearly there is need of a skilled swimmer, an expert, to go out into the depth of the water of the gulf, and dive, and bring up the drowned man there among the monsters. The water itself, when it sees a man skilled and knowing how to navigate it, helps such a man, and bears him up to the surface. ”

“ You will not be displeased if I conclude these hasty remarks by informing you, that as the ordinary method of swimming is reduced to the act of rowing with the arms and legs, and is consequently a laborious and fatiguing operation when the space of water to be crossed is considerable, there is a method by which a swimmer may pass to great distances with much facility, by means of a sail. ”

“ I afterwards became an accomplished swimmer, and could do various tricks in the water, such as reading aloud from a book held in both hands, or swimming in clothes and heavy boots, with one hand out of the water carrying a paddle and drawing a canoe after me. I have often carried one of my little boys on my shoulders; but they are now better swimmers than myself, and the eldest has saved several men from drowning. It is an immense comfort, if nothing else, to be perfectly at home in the water, and it has increased my pleasure in boating a hundred-fold. ”

“ The swimmer adrift on the open seas measures his strength, and strives with all his muscles to keep himself afloat. But what is he to do when there is no land on the horizon, and none beyond it? ”

“ Though a brave and expert swimmer in shallow water, no sooner do I find myself out of reach of dry land, than all my powers forsake me. I swim with short, irregular, and utterly ineffective strokes, I pant, gasp and struggle, and unless promptly rescued, I sink. ”

“ We have shown that much of the art of swimming depends upon having confidence, and that that confidence is speedily dissipated upon the swimmer coming in contact with the water. Besides this, a great deal in the art of swimming depends upon the degree of ease with which the swimmer can use his hands and feet. Now this sort of exercise may in part be acquired on land, and it would be of great usefulness to the learner were he to enter upon some preliminary practice which would give him the use of his hands and feet, in the manner required in swimming. ”

“ Men lower ropes from the pirogue, the swimmer passes them under his barrel, and it is hoisted aboard.
... Wonderful surf-swimmers these men are;—they will go far out for mere sport in the roughest kind of a sea, when the waves, abnormally swollen by the peculiar conformation of the bay, come rolling in thirty and forty feet high. Sometimes, with the swift impulse of ascending a swell, the swimmer seems suspended in air as it passes beneath him, before he plunges into the trough beyond. The best swimmer is a young capre who cannot weigh more than a hundred and twenty pounds. ”

“ Of course it is an excellent swimmer, and, indeed, such confidence has it in its powers of swimming, that when hunted or pursued by whatever enemy, it makes directly for the river and plunges in, no matter what depth may be the water. ”

“ Swimming is a glorious exercise—one of the best that can be taken; it expands the chest; it promotes digestion; it develops the muscles, and brings into action some muscles that in any other form of exercise are but seldom brought into play; it strengthens and braces the whole frame, and thus makes the swimmer resist the liability of catching colds; it gives both boys and girls courage, energy, and self-reliance,—splendid qualities in this rough world of ours. Swimming is oftentimes the means of saving human life ”

“ After this triumph, however, the young swimmer must be exceedingly cautious, though he may feel conscious of his own power, he must venture only a few strokes out of his depth: should he be in a broad river, he must be careful not to do so where there is a strong curling eddy or flood: in a small river, the breadth of which is only a few yards, he may venture across with a few bold and regular strokes ”

“ But until everyone who attends school is taught to swim and be competent to take care of themselves in the water under all conditions, life-saving must be part of the educational work of swimming, in fact, made a strong feature of natatorial instruction; therefore, it behooves the skilled swimmer to learn the best ways to approach a person in the water who may need help, and better still, to know how to release one’s self from the death-grip of a drowning person. ”

“ Should the swimmer wish to turn on his back, he must keep one leg still, and embrace the water beside him with the other, and he will turn to that side. To shew the feet, he must turn himself on his back, and bend the small of it downwards, supporting himself by his hands to and fro immediately above his breast, and hold his feet above the water. Swimming under water is performed by the usual stroke, the head being kept a little downwards, and the feet struck out a little higher than when swimming on the surface. ”

“ The swimmer takes a short run, similar to that taken by a high or broad jumper, in order to give sufficient impetus or force to the springing or forward movement. Then soaring upward and outward he shoots through the air, keeping the body straight until the declining turn toward the water is made, when a sudden twist of the body is given and the diver enters the water in a slanting position, keeping the upper and lower limbs straight and close together, the arms extended beyond the head, with the palms of the hands or fingers touching in a wedge-like manner. ”

“ To walk into the water and "duck" is rather an ignominious proceeding, only to be excused in the novice or the lady bather we see at our watering-places bobbing up and down at the end of a rope. The swimmer should not rest content until he is able to plunge in like a workman ”

“ A good swimmer can cross the stream, if he does not lose his head, for the current is powerful, and one is borne down far faster than he imagines, and it is much further across than it seems to be. Several times, when I have wanted to cross, and there was no boat, I have swam across to the other side, wearing my shirt and trousers and carrying my boots slung around my neck. ”

“ In swimming like a porpoise, the right arm is lifted entirely out of the water, the shoulder is thrust forward, and while the swimmer is striking out with his legs, he reaches forward with his hand as far as he can ”

“ The good swimmers have started a race with other experts. They mean to swim to the island opposite without any stopover, and are watched by an admiring crowd of youngsters.
Care is taken that no boy goes beyond his depth unless he is a good swimmer. Instructors, in boats, constantly patrol the course, watching every move the boys make. ”

“ I know by experience, that it is a great comfort to a swimmer, who has a considerable distance to go, to turn himself sometimes on his back, and to vary in other respects the means of of proeuring a progressive motion. ”

“ If swimming under water for a long distance, the body should be kept near the surface, for the reason that the pressure is greater in the corresponding depth. Care should be taken to fill the lungs before starting, and as soon as the first symptoms of asphyxiation are noticeable, the swimmer should rise to the surface. ”

“ Never was victory over self more complete. I have been a good swimmer ever since. At a slow gait I think I could swim all day in smooth water moderate in temperature. When I was a student at Madison, I used to go on long swimming-journeys, called exploring expeditions, along the south shore of Lake Mendota, on Saturdays, sometimes alone, sometimes with another amphibious explorer by the name of Fuller. ”

“ Floating is no effort; on the contrary, sinking is impossible. The only annoyance in swimming is the tendency of the feet to strike out of water, and of the swimmer to go over on his head. When I stood upright in the water it came about to my shoulders ”

“ In swimming it is well to take various strokes, swimming on the back, on the side, and on the face. This brings nearly every muscle in the body into play and if the swimmer does not stay in too long it makes him feel fine. ”

“ Most progress is made when the two arms and the two legs are employed. An expert swimmer can do whatever he chooses in water. Thus he can throw himself upon his back, and by extending his arms obliquely above his head until they are in the same plane with his body, can float without any exertion whatever; or, maintaining the floating position, he can fold his arms upon his chest and by alternately flexing and extending his lower extremities, can propel himself with ease and at considerable speed ”

“ They ain’t a man on this coast would take a chance like that.”
“Superstition,” retorted the other curtly. “On a still day such as this there would be no danger to an experienced swimmer. The conditions are ideal except for this crowd. ”

“ For sea bathing, however, it is far better, no matter how good a swimmer one may be, to have a boat in attendance. Before bathing in any strange place, the swimmer should make himself acquainted with the currents and the direction of the tide. When the tide is going out the course should be made along the coast, close in shore. ”

“ Many of the movements that seem remarkable to the uninitiated, however, are not really hard at all, but can be accomplished with practice, by being persistent and patient until finally acquired.
Among the feats that are at all times interesting and those that stamp the swimmer as being clever, are porpoise swimming; sculling on the back, using hands only; the running header; plunging, feet foremost; the sitting jump; imitation of a torpedo; the back dive; revolving; the twister; back somersault; marching on the water ”

“ Most are decidedly fine-looking boys, with admirably rounded limbs, delicately formed extremities. The best diver and swiftest swimmer, however, is a red lad;—his face is rather commonplace, but his slim body has the grace of an antique bronze. ”

“ The vicinity of the sea and a long reef of rocks extending far out from the shore beyond low water, which enabled us to get readily into deep water at every state of the tide, gave us opportunities for practising swimming which were taken advantage of by the boys, so that our school was renowned for its excellent swimmers and carried off all the first prizes at the swimming competitions with other schools. ”

“ But we adepts in swimming plunged in head first from a sort of trapeze, or from the roofs of the dressing-rooms, making a somersault on the way. The swimmers did the prettiest tricks in the water. Young married women met in the middle to shake hands and hold long conversations. Scores of young girls used to romp about, ducking each other under and climbing on each other's backs for support, and children of three or four used to swim about like whitebait, in and out, among us all. ”

“ Now, in calm weather, to swim in the open ocean is as easy to the practised swimmer as to ride in a spring-carriage ashore. But the awful lonesomeness is intolerable. The intense concentration of self in the middle of such a heartless immensity, my God! who can tell it? ”

“ Now all this is very easily performed with a little practice, but will be very difficult if the learner have not coolness and self-possession. A slow long stroke, the hand thrust forward with energy, and the legs brought up and struck out with a regular and even stroke, is the whole art of simple swimming. The swimmer must, however, be careful to draw his breath at the time when his hands are descending towards his hips; if he attempt it when he strikes out his legs, his head will partially sink, and his mouth will fill with water. ”

“ I may Say that boat sailing and swimming and heaving the lead are also included under the seamanship course.
To most of the local boys, swimming exercise was as play, and accordingly they received V.G. (very good) on the instructor's class book on passing-out day. To pass out, the boy must be an efficient swimmer, and able to swim in a duck suit a considerable distance. Boys on the other hand who had been brought up as strangers to the sea, regard this instruction with much fear, and it becomes a terror to them. ”

“ A friend may hold up your chin, or a light float may be fastened behind your shoulders. The body of a person is very little heavier than water, and a slight exertion, rightly directed, will keep it afloat for hours.
FLOATING. The most important step, after learning to swim, is to learn how to float. 52A skillful swimmer may find himself overtaken by cramp while in deep water. He can turn upon his back and float until he recovers or help reaches him. In case of shipwreck, or where a person is forced to stay a long time in water, he can rest by floating. ”