Swimming hole

“ The stream should be bayed up to a depth at the deepest part of about five feet, which is quite deep enough for ordinary swimming, and reduces the danger to a minimum. If possible, a strong smooth rail should run across the pool, or partly across. ”

“ The pool was a source of constant delight, not only to our youngsters, but to those of our neighbours. All but the four-year-old learned to swim, and by the end of the season even he could make some preliminary moves in that direction. The moral of the story is that if you have some youngsters, a back yard and a city water pipe you do not need to go to the seashore for fun. Give the boys a chance to make a swimming pool and they will enjoy it all the more if it is the result of their handiwork. ”

“ We have not far to go before we catch them. A bugle sounds, and a hundred and twenty forms plunge from the bathing-stage and quay into the water. The bright harbour is dotted with the heads of swimmers. Some backward boys are being taught to swim in a "swimming-tray," a thing like a flat-bottomed barge, sunk with its bottom about four feet below the surface. A capital place it is for teaching youngsters to swim. ”

“ No matter how well you think you know a swimming-place, take nothing for granted. So many changes take place in a year. Sand bars are formed by the tides. If you dive from a pier, how can you know without actually investigating what timber may have been swung loose by the water's action since last year, and be now lurking for you beneath the surface? And as for swimming in strange water, never do it without learning all you can about the conditions. ”

“ There are several strangers in the pool, and Brother Sheppard has taken quite a fancy to one young fellow, whom he is trying to learn to swim and dive. In an adjoining pool is rather a forlorn-looking duck; it must be tame, for it is quietly swimming around undisturbed by the noise we make. ”

“ If he travels after nightfall, the chances are his craft will steal unawares close to a black head above a swimming body. With both wind and current meeting the canoe, no suspicion of his presence catches the scent of the sharp-nosed swimmer. ”

“ The time has now arrived when the young must be taught their first swimming-lessons, and the rudiments of that aquatic life to which their special structure confines them. From the rookery to the sea they advance, hopping with both legs together, and jump feet foremost bolt upright from a ledge into the water. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It was wildly inspiring, exhilarating, and the girls thrilled with a strange new emotion as they watched. It was so free, so gloriously unchained!
"There is our swimming pool over there," Mollie said, raising her voice to make it heard above the roar of the water. "You see there is a sort of little back eddy below the falls and to one side of it, and right there we'll find the best swimming of our lives. But," she added, and her voice was impressively solemn, "heaven help any one of us who gets in the path of the falls." ”

“ The fine streamers into which the paddles and gills are divided are too delicate to have existence in any but a water creature, and the least attempt to lift the animal from its element would only tear and dismember it, so I leave it in the pool to await the return of the tide.
Shrimps and prawns of many shapes and colours inhabit every pool. One small species, abundant on the algæ, combines the colour changes of a chameleon with the form and manner of travel of a measuring-worm, looping along the fronds of seaweed or swimming with the same motion. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If men sink to the bottom of the water it is their own fault, nature having laid no necessity on them of doing so; nay, there is not only occasion for force and strength, but also art, to do it safely, speedily, and handsomely ; but those who are expert at swimming do it, on occasion, as swift as an arrow and descend perpendicularly or obliquely as they please. The first way of doing it is, to begin standing on your feet touching the bottom ”

“ The Shadyside gymnasium was equipped with a fine pool, and it was the school's boast that every girl learned to swim during her first term. Perhaps the proximity of the lake and the lure of the small fleet of canoes and rowboats tied up at the wharf had something to do with the success of the swimming classes. ”

“ The more advanced could wade out shoulder-deep, and puff and flounder with one foot on the ground and the other up above their heads, and delude the world into the notion they were swimming. For others there was the spring-board, from which to take a header into deep water ”

“ The hot outdoor swimming bath is a toy with which one really cannot stop playing. It is something so new and so amusing to dive into a bath 90 feet long and 102 deg. Fahrenheit as to heat; swim about like marigolds in broth, in a temperature that would cook an egg in a few minutes, and all the time see the exquisite weeping willows wave overhead, the tall grasses stand on the bank, the wild clematis tremble in the trees above the pool. ”

“ 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 did not get so far as the hotel, and instead of turning down the hill, walked in the opposite direction, interested in the progress of the great new swimming-pool now almost completed by the camping company whose settlement lay below the Mammoth Terrace. Fed by deliciously warm sulphur water piped down from the great hot springs on the mountain-side, it was plain that the pool would be a great attraction to the dusty tourist folks. ”

“ In the largest pool they learnt to swim. When they were sure of themselves they took to the sea itself.
Their favorite spot was a narrow funnel between two low promontories, up which gulf the rollers raced to explode a white puff of spray through a blow-hole at the end. At the mouth of the funnel stood a rock they called “The Chimney,” the top standing eight feet above low water level. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Upright swimming.—This is a new mode of swimming, introduced by Bernardi, a Neapolitan, and consists in adopting the accustomed motion of the limbs in walking. It gives great freedom to the hands and arms, affords a greater facility of breathing and of sight. It is true, that a person swimming in an upright position, advances more slowly, but as the method is more natural, the person is [Pg 84] able to continue his course longer, and can remain with greater safety in the water. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Fig. 85. The Diving Tree.
Lake Placid was a favorite swimming place for us. We used to plunge in from the branches of a tree which overhung the water a little ways above the lagoon and made a natural springboard. We could all swim like ducks, except Dutchy, who couldn’t do anything but paddle. However, Uncle Ed was an expert, and he took Dutchy in hand and soon made a pretty good swimmer out of him. ”

“ Treading water is a very useful and necessary adjunct to swimming, especially so to the person who either falls overboard or goes to the rescue of a drowning person, or when trying to remove one's clothes. In the game of water polo, also, this method of swimming is practised a great deal.
To tread water is like running up-stairs rapidly; the legs have to be brought up and down all the time; the hands should be kept on the surface of the water, the palms continually pressing against the water, and thereby helping the legs to hold the body up. ”

“ We will, therefore, suppose that those who are about to essay these difficult swimming movements have passed the elementary and intermediate stages and have the ability to float well. Without a knowledge of floating, or at least the ability to control the buoyancy of the body when placed in all manner of positions, it will be almost impossible to make any success of ornamental swimming. ”

“ After this a little more plain swimming will lead, perhaps, to a miscellaneous string of obstacles, all across boats, baskets, punts, barrels, canoes—anything, and nearly everything that floats—loosely tied together. Here, more than anywhere, the swimmer requires generalship. His eyes are below the level of the obstruction, and he has not the advantage of a general view. A good large broad-beamed boat, stern on, offers an opportunity not to be despised, affording a fairly easy pull up and promising a clear run through the barricade. ”

“ To practise this, swim slowly to the end of the tank, gage your strokes, so that the right hand grasps the bar which is usually placed around the tank a little above the water. Throw the left arm over the right arm against the marble side of the bath under water; at the same time double the body up, switch around, gathering yourself well together, and shoot forward with the arms extended. Ten to twenty feet can be covered on a good push-off. ”

“ One mode of swimming is very singular; one arm is always out of the water, advanced in front, alternately with the other, sweeping or drawing the water towards them, and raising the body out of the water at each stroke. ”

“ The lofty interior glowing with light, the immense swimming tank, the four great fountains filling the air with diamond-dazzle and the noise of falling water, together with the throng of gayly dressed and laughing bathers, made an exhilarating and magnificent scene, which was a very effective introduction to the athletic side of the modern life. ”

“ The most important thing to remember in swimming the crawl stroke is the fact that the body should be kept perfectly flat on the water, the face and head partly submerged, the eyes preferably above the water and looking straight ahead. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Miss Anna C. Kean of Lansdowne, Pa., swam from Ocean City to Atlantic City, 12 miles in the sea, August 21, 1916, in 8 hours and 28 minutes, and on September 18, 1916, swam 26 miles in the Delaware River in 11 hours 8 minutes 41 3-5 seconds, this performance being the longest swim ever made by a woman in the world under same conditions.
[Pg 44]
Modern Methods of Life-Saving
It is often remarked by those who have a very limited knowledge of swimming matters, that it is the good swimmer who gets drowned. ”

“ SWIMMING POOL; SPA.— The term `swimming pool ́ or `spa ́ means any outdoor or indoor structure intended for swimming or recreational bathing, including in-ground and above-ground structures, and includes hot tubs, spas, portable spas, and non-portable wading pools. (7) UNBLOCKABLE DRAIN.— The term `unblockable drain ́ means a drain of any size and shape that a human body cannot sufficiently block to create a suction entrapment hazard. ”

“ We awarded ‘Safety’ buttons to those who swore off on these juvenile pastimes, and when that failed, we installed swimming pools near the roundhouses, under railroad supervision.
“The swimming pool never has failed to work. All that is necessary to steer a boy away from dangerous pastimes is to provide a sane outlet for his excess energy.” ”

“ One must jump well out and be sure to judge the distance safely in order that there be no danger of striking the upper part of the body on the ledge of the bath, pier or wharf, as the case may be.
The number of ornamental feats in swimming is almost unlimited, according to the ability and ingenuity of the performer; but, in addition to the above-described movements, such figures as porpoise swimming, where the expert describes, by going under and over the water, the swimming of a porpoise ”