or" COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT EVERYBODY SWIMMEF BY / THOMAS COYLE, it 7 The Champion Swimmer of America. CONTAINING FULL INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO L,? SWIM, TOGETHER WITH INCIDENTS IN CAREER OF THE AUTHOR. CHESTF MELVILLE & HAAS, B( 1 COPYRIGHTED BY THOMAS COYLE 1884. EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. I will guarantee that every man, woman, and child, that reads this book and is guided by it will be able to go into the water and commence to swim, whether they ever swam a stroke or not. This will instruct them when to go into the water, how long to stop in, what to drink, what to do when they conie out, when to look out for sharks, when a person is in shark parts, &c. To be a good swimmer is to have an accomplishment a per- son may feel proud of. It is a luxury worth possessing and very simple and easily acquired, and once learned is something a person can never forget. If a person learns it in boyhood and never practice it during his maturity ; and in doting old age he falls overboard he will strike out with confidence and with the same skill that he did in boyhood. I have for years back wondered how people with eyes to see could be so careless about not possessing such a valuable ac- complishment. And if we look at it right it looks as if the head of a family is acting the "penny wise and pound foolish" in not instructing his boys and girls, or have them instructed, in the art. Parents will spend hundreds of dollars on their children for other accomplishments and what does it all amount to if by some mishap they tumble into deep water and no one at hand to rescue them? Why, they drown with all their col- lege and high school accomplishments. Parents may say to themselves I will not allow my children to go near the water, then there is no danger. Ah! but how often are parents dis- 6 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. tressed and mortified on finding their darlings brought home a, corpse (drowned) when they were pretty sure that their chil- dren were playing about the back yard, or in the the neigh- borhood of the barn. I say girls as well as boys, for I think it just as necessary for a girl to learn to swim as a boy, for girls will sometimes go in water in small row boats, on excursions, &c. You have but to look back a few months ago at that sad accident to the Princess Alice, in the English channel, where so many hundred women were enjoying themselves on an excur- sion and without scarcely a moment's warning were sent into eternity. Now had those women been able to make a few strokes and kept themselves afloat a few minutes they would have all been saved. When there is a wreck or an explosion of a vessel, with all men aboard, a great many of those men will save themselves by catching on to something or other; but a woman, if she has not learned to swim, will make no effort to save herself. Now out of the four or five hundred women on board of that ill-fated vessel one woman was saved, she hav- ing learned to swim along with her brothers while a child. In Sweden every child, girl or boy, is taught to swim as part of their physicial education, which they value so high in that country. In France, too, the greater part of the women learn to swim. But England leads off far head of all nations in that respect, having a large number of swimming schools, and clubs, both public and private. There is the London school swimming club, the object of which is to instruct the scholars and teachers in the swimming art. The rich and educated there take great interest in the art, while in this country that class takes no interest in it. They seem to think it beneath their notice. They are satisfied as long as they can turn out in a fine equipage of their own. Is it any wonder that so few learn to swim in this country? Why, a girl or a woman at the seaside here that can swim is sure to attract a great deal of at- tention and curiosity. This country should lead off ahead of EVERYBODY A SWIMMER, 7 all others in that respect, with its miles of seacoast, its many lakes, and numerous rivers, the art of swimming should be more general. The exercise is healthful and pleasant, and in- volves no necessary risk. People, then, should not delay acquir- ing so simple and easy an accomplishment. Do not postpone it until it is too late. Now, throw any kind of an animal into the water and it will strike out for dear life and will swim for miles. Some people put great -stress on the fact that some good swimmers are drowned. That is very true, but it is principally their own fault in risking too much without any necessity, over-estimat- ing: their powers of endurance, or, if dumped overboard with all their clothing on, by not going to work and stripping off their heavy clothing, and shoes or boots, when they know that they have a considerable distance to swim in order to save themselves. Very few persons, even good swimmers, ever try the experiment of swimming with their clothes on, particularly a heavy pair of boots. If they should try it once they would be convinced of the great necessity of getting out of their clothes the first thing on being clumped overboard in deep water where there was any considerable distance to swim. It is an easy matter for a person to strip off everything on first falling into the water. They could do it easier beneath the surface of the water than by trying to keep their head above the surface. Again, swimmers sometimes venture out a great^ way and take the cramp, or get into too rough a water, or a 'chop sea that will bother the best of swimmers. I will explain how to prevent taking the cramps farther on. As well might those persons say there is no use in eating (for I have known people to kill themselves at that), as to prate about an old swimmer getting drowned, for when such occurs, everybody is taken by surprise. Very often those men are so drunk that they cannot stretch out a hand to save themselves. It is a lux- ury to be used, and not abused. A man in the water is out of 8 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER, his element, and should be very cautious about going into deep water a great distance from shore without some assistance at hand; that has always been my motto. For the first few times a person goes in bathing of a season, they should be very care- ful about going far out into deep water, for it is before a per- son gets seasoned to the water that they are apt to take the cramps. To prevent cramps in the calf of the leg, the princi- pal place it fs generally taken in, before entering the water is to tie a small cord around just below the knee, and only tight enough to prevent it falling oft' altogether. About six laps of cotton twine is about the best, for it will tighten up as the flesh shrinks up with the water. Some will tell you that eel skin is the best; it may be but it is more apt to slip off than cotton string, something about three-eighths of an inch thick is the thing. Children should be taught to swim at an early age, say from seven to twelve; a stout hearty child can be taught at seven, but many a child is not strong enough until about twelve years old. There should be more of a chance given to girls to learri, boys can go out most anywhere along the creeks and dams, but girls where will they go to learn? Every city and village should have swimming schools for girls, it would not cost much money to rig up swimming places. In the absence of such places girls should club together in strong force and find themselves a suitable place, and give the boys to under- stand that they have rights which the boys are bound to re- spect. The season for swimming in the Middle States is but very short, not three months in the most favorable summer. It is surprising the number of men who follow the water for a liv. Log that cannot swim. A mis-step about the side of the vessel on a dark night sends a great many of that class to a watery grave; they tumble overboard and that is generally the last of them. Yet, if you say anything to them while living about the importance of learning to swim, they will laugh at you and EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. j9 tell you that good swimmers are as likely to get drowned . There is not one swimmer drowned, for every fifty of those drowned- If it was something that cost a large sum of money to secure it, there would be some excuse for the poor people, but as it is there is no excuse for rich or poor, it is within ready reach of all. How nice it is for one to be self -trustworthy in time of danger, what an amount of dread and fear is avoided. See that party just getting into a boat for a sail on the river; the person that cannot swim gets into the boat with a faltering step, and you can usually hear them tell the captain of the boat in a faltering tone to be careful for they cannot swim a stroke. Picture to yourself the dread of such a one while out sailing, should it spring up a little rough, fearing that an ex- tra heavy squall should strike the boat and upset her when he would expect nothing else but be drowned. On the other hand look at the good swimmer going off on a sail; he goes with a light heart, for what fear has he if the boat upset or not, he could paddle about until picked up by a passing boat or swim ashore. There is a time when even good swimmers should be very cautious about undertaking to swim a great distance,*that is when the water is cold and chilly. Even a fish in right cold has not half the life in it that it has in warm water, and how can a man expect to swim far when the water is cold enough to chill him through? Shad fishermen fish with their old nets early in the spring, for they say an old net is as good then as a new one, but late in the season when the water gets warm they have to put out their new nets to stop the rapid progress of the shad that would otherwise pass through an old net when the water is warm. Now to learn to swim I will lay down several ways for the learner to go by, as every one cannot learn the same way. I will commence with the stout hearty person first who is not afraid to do as I tell him (or her,) and as you see by taking my advice you cannot get drowned, even though jio one. is nigh.. 10 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. But I would advise learners to always go in company with oth- ers if possible while learning. The first thing for a learner is to find a place where there is shallow water, say from two to four feet for a grown person, and about two feet for boys. Find a place where the bottom is even and where it does not break off into deep holes, so that there is no danger of getting over your head until you have learned to swim a few strokes. When stripped off do not loiter long in the air but wade in and dip down under the surface of the water, head and all, holding your breath of course while under; this being done you will have passed through the most disagreeable part of bathing, meeting the shock that one experiences in going into the water at first. Now wade out up to your breast, then turn towards shore, inflate your lungs, put your two hands together and make a plunge under the surface of the water and strike out for shore taking care to hold your breath while under. You will find, though you may never have swam a stroke, that when under the surface of the water you are very light, and in- stead of sinking deeper, as you would imagine, you will rise towards the top almost in spite of yourself. You must use your hands pretty much as oars of a boat, right backwards and clown towards the* hips, drawing your feet together and kick- ing out at the same instant, giving full spread to both hands and feet. Keep repeating the motion and you will find that it is no trouble to swim under the surface of the water. The great fault with a great part of the learners is that they try to swim in the air instead of the water; the arms and legs must be worked well under, the legs about at an angle of thirty-five degrees, the head thrown back on the shoulders, not down in front as is the habit of beginners. Finding that you can swim under the surface with ease, you will now try it on the surface, wading out until the water is up to your breast and then strik- ing in towards the shore. Do not exert yourself to keep high out of the water. It is only an expert swimmer that can swim EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 11 high out of the water, and when going at a rapid rate I learn- ed myself first by diving under a few times as above. I found out that it was no trouble to swim under the surface, but, while down all covered up something seemed to force me towards the top in spite of myself . The above is the quickest way to learn; there are several other ways that a person may learn, such as get- ting a board and laying on it and paddling with the hands and feet, until the stroke is learned; another way is to t?et corks, fasten them on a piece of rope about two feet long, put the rope under your breast and let the corks come around on top of your back, and you will find that by using your hands and feet as above indicated you can swim with ease. If you go into the water and throw your head back on your shoulders and strike out with merely your nostrils out of the water to breathe through, you will find that you do not need much to buoy you up. A small piece of board or about twenty-five corks such as shad fishermen use fixed as above on a strap or rope two feet long or so, is sufficient for any one to learn with. Those «who are not afraid to take my advice about diving un- der in shallow and smooth water and striking for shore need no boards or corks, but I know that there are a great many that have not the courage to do that, but all such will have to take the round about way to learn. Once a person gets able to make about a half-dozen strokes the road is easy and clear, and it only requires a little practice after that to become a good swimmer. A new beginner should be very cautious about venturing where there is a strong surf. Along the sea coast learners should practice and learn in smooth water, such as creeks or dams, for it takes a powerful swimmer to manage the undertow sometimes along the coast. It takes a person to be able to swim high up on the surface so as to avoid the un- dertow. Still another good way is to rest or plank and work your hands under ,it, In striking out your hands bring them together at every stroke, fingers closed, 12 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. and the hand a little hallowed. It is best for you to throw yourself a little on one side or the other. You will find that you can swim with more ease on your side, also go along con- siderable faster by swimming on your side and letting your head lay on the water. The water serves as a pillow to the head. A man swimming high out of the water cannot swim near as far as the man who lays low and rests his head on the water. You may ask, how can a person rest his head on the water while swimming ? Any good swimmer will tell you that by swimming on his side with his head low he can get along with more ease than by trying to hold his head a half foot out of the water. Having learned to swim, there may be times that a person may have to swim high to keep from drowning, such as when passing through where there is what may be termed a chop sea. A great many good swimmers are drowned in a heavy chop sea. A chop sea is formed by a rapid current passing- some head land, wharf, etc. The sea strikes you in the face nearly every second, and a person is apt to take in water in spite of himself, and get strangled, not being able to breathe. I do not care how high the waves are running that I am swim- ming in; by diving through them, or raising yourself on top, you can secure a breathing gpelL But in chop sea you have a poor chance to breathe, for at every breath you are apt to take in water. There is another good stroke every one should try and learn after accomplishing the breast stroke, that is the over hand, or what used to be termed the Johnson stroke. Not the overhand that most people practice, throwing themselves alternately from one side to the other at every other stroke, but the keep- ing on one side for a considerable distance at a time. It is ac- complished as follows: Thro w ' yourself on your right or left side as you choose; the hand that comes under throw forward directly ahead of you, at the same time kicking out with EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 13 both feet; bring the hand back underneath your hip, using it as a paddle. Now bring up the arm that is on top, with fingers closed, the palm of the hand a little hollow, throw it as far forward as you can and bring it back with force in front of your body, at the same time kick out as before with both feet. In this stroke you only use one hand at a time and kick out with the feet each time you use either hand. This stroke has more speed in it and less exertion than the breast stroke, but cannot be used so well in rough water, for a person using the over-hand must swim low. It is the best stroke for another reason, for it keeps the head cool, thereby keeping the temper- ature of the body more even. The best stroke is had on a hot day, the head out of the water and in the hot sun, causing the body to get cool and the blood running to the head, while it is policy to keep the head cool as well as the body. For that rea- son a person should always enter the water by diving in head foremost; that is provided he is a good swimmer, and acquaint- ed with the place he is going into. A person should be very cautious about how they dive in where they are not acquainted with the place. A learner should on going into the water lay down on their stomach, on reaching two or three feet of water dip head and all under, not go in as many do and never wet the head at all. Boys have a very bad practice of going in bath- ing during the heat of the day, aud remaining in sometimes for hours at a time; when they should go in early in the morn- ing or after sun-down in the evening, and then only stop in from five to fifteen minutes at a time. Not until they get shivering and shaking with the cold, to probably be thrown into a spell of sickness, or consumption. While a little of the water is good, too much is worse than none at all. The Turkish bath is very good occassionally for a certain class of people, chief of whom are the stout, corpulant persons, particularly if they want some of their surplus flesh off of them. Men about to enter heavy contests frequently take them. It 14 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. is about the quickest and easiest way of getting rid of soft flesh. Going into this almost baking hot room at first, there swettecl until you swet about half a gallon, then going into another room where you have first hot water run over you, then it grad- ually gets cooler, then lay down on a board or table, to be washed and rubbed down. After getting through that process, plunging into a tank of cold water. If after getting out of that your nose is any way stopped up, you are led to what is called the steam room, and allowed to remain there as lf>ng as you like, keeping your mouth closed and breathing through your nostrils. You cannot stay there over three or four min- utes, when you take the second plunge into the cold water tank and get out to be rubbed dry, when you can dress and take your leave. Persons going on excursions, and expecting to go in bathing on reaching the seashore, should be very cautious about drink- ing spirituous liquors, for some how or other they will not mix well together. A little malt liquor sometimes will not hurt, but spirituous liquor is very apt to chill you as soon as you en- ter the water. I have tested it often when working about the water, diving, &c, and invariably found that after drinking spirituous liquors I could not stand the water long. When I want to make a long stay at diving now, I either abstain alto- gether or take a glass or two of ale, and while in the water if I take anything it is ale. A little good brandy is said to be good in the water, and I believe it is, provided you get brandy, but where will you get it ? If you go to the average hotel keeper and call for brandy, you will get flavored (liquors) whiskey, which you are better without. The liquor sold at most of the watering places is not fit to drink at all. They do not ex- pect the same parties back again during the season, and con- sequently so it is something in shape of whiskey it is all right. Of course, there are a few well-meaning liquor sellers, but they are but few. For any article like liquor that is sold, that the EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 15 people know so little about, whether it is good or bad, they are apt to take advantage of it. Everyone wants to make mon- ey fast now-a-days. It don't matter so they make it. It ap- pears that the liquor traffic is what attracts the attention of unprincipled men that wants to get rich fast. For where any- thing like an honest man would pay about two dollars and a half per gallon for the liquor that they pass over their bar for ten cents per drink, the greater portion will only pay about one, or one twenty-five per gallon, and charge ten cents a drink for it. After bathing if you feel chilly a cup or two of hot coffee is good, or a drink or two of porter or ale. Also a brisk walk to start the blood in full circulation. Bathing very late at night is not good for them, for the air is cool and a person is very apt to get chilled through, then probably go to bed to get up next morning with a bad cold settled on their lungs which it may take months to get rid of. The reader must not look on me as a temperance advocate altogether, I only wish to inter- est persons that is about to go bathing, to tell them what is good for them on such occasions and what is not. I have sold considerable liquor in my time and know whereof I speak. And then I have experimented with different drinks while working about the water. I find out that to be able to make any considerable stay in it of a day I have to abstain from all spirituous liquors before entering it, for some how or other they do not mix well. Swimming matches in this country do not pay any one, without it ia the hotel keeper where it takes place; for, as a general thing, those who profess to be swimmers are poor men and the races that do take place are for nothing more than a few dollars paid by these hotel keepers. And very often they back out of paying what they promise after the race is over. You read of a match coming off for two hundred and fifty or five hundren dollars, and in reality there is not over twenty- 16 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. five dollars in it. Swimming does not seem to attract the at- tention it should in this country some how. The only tunc there was any great interest taken in it, was in 1875, when myself and J. B. Johnson swam for the championship of the world, from Chester, Pa., to Gloucester, New Jersey. Then the whole country seemed to be interested; even people who scarcely ever take any notice of sporting matters in general were very much interested in that great race of thirteen miles. Mr. Johnson came to this country as the champion of the world at that time. He had been a professional in England for years before, having won a great number of races there. He was what might be termed a water duck, for he followed it winter and summer, exhibiting in a glass tank at theatres and other places, eating, drinking and writing while under the surface of the water, and stopping under as long as three min- utes and forty seconds. He was a powerful built man, twenty- Bine years old, weighing about one hundred and eighty pounds, while I was thirty-five years old, and weighed when I swam him one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Still, notwithstand- ing the great difference between us in every respect, I could not let him leave this country (as he was about to do,) without giving him a trial, although I had never swam a race in my life, as swimming in this country up to that time had been. but little thought of. Since that time it is picking up a little. Who has not seen boys in every quarter of the country since, .acting Coyle and Johnson by having short spurts while in bathing? The great race came off on July 22nd, 1875. And never be- fore or since was such a great throng of people assembled on the Delaware river at any one time. And Gloucester, New Jersey, was what might be termed crammed. There never was such a throng in Gloucester before or since, as on that day. Fifty thousand people is a low estimate of the number there ,that day.. The Centennial Hotel, as it is called, took in over a EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 17 thousand dollars at the different bars. The same place took in four or five hundred dollars every Sunday. While I was there they would average about twenty-five or thirty-five dollars per Sunday in general. And as incredible as it may appear, after being the means of making several thousand dollars for those two men that kept that place, when the wind-up came they cheated me out of my weekly pay of fifteen dollars. I drew about one week's pay; the rest I left lay in their hands to get altogether when the swimming would be all over. And there it lays yet, with no satisfaction or no promise of it in the future. Some people have a great dread of sea sharks. So had I at one time, but I have changed considerable. I now have more dread of land sharks. A poor sea shark, of course, will bite you if he comes across you when very hungry, but a land shark will bite you every time whether hungry or not; or more plain- ly speaking, will rob you whether he is in need or not. So of the two kinds of sharks the land shark is about fifty times more to be dreaded than the poor sea shark. I speak, "by the board," as the saying is. I have been in the water with sea sharks and escaped, but to come in contact with a land shark without being bitten is next to impossible. But I am wandering off the main subject. 1 must come back to the great race. Well, the day was all that could be ex- pected for a swimming race, and the start was not made at the time it should have been but nearly two hours later, because I, without thinking what I was about, told my friends that whether I beat Johnson or not, one thing they could depend on was that I would make the stake boat at Gloucester. Mr. Johnson, being informed of that, saw a chance to make a little money by betting that neither of us would reach the stake boat at Gloucester. I did not have Mr. Johnson bound up as to time of starting, and coneequently when it was time to start I could not understand why he would not make the start with 18 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. me in time to make Gloucester by that tide. I stripped myself for the water at a late time to make Gloucester, but I could not persuade Mr. Johnson to come and make a start for about one hour after I had stripped, which made it impossible for either of us to reach the stake boat at Gloucester that day. Finally, when Mr. Johnson came to the scratch prepared to jump over, one of the Pennsylvania line of steamers was approaching Chester and we stood for a few moments by the rail of the tug boat to allow it to pass. While passing the erreat multitude of people assembled at Chester pier there was considerable blowing of whistles and cheering indulged in. That being over and the outward bound steamer having passed a few hun- dred yards we mounted the railing when the words "ready" and "go" were given and we started off amid the cheering of thousands of people who lined the shore and filled the different crafts, the ringing of bells and blowing of several steam whistles ; such was the start of the greatest race that has ever taken place in this country. Mr. Johnson would sooner have lost his life than that race, and as for my part all the money that has ever been' coined since the world begun could not have bought me that day. But I was green at that kind of business, and if they could not buy me, there were others that could be bought (and cheap at that,) to make me lose the race. In starting it was my intention to take what is known as the Western channel, or the Lazaretto channel as it is now known, but instead was piloted up the Eastern or main ship channel, which was really the best course, starting so late in the tide as Ave did. I was piloted all right till near the old Light House, (or Block House as commonly called,) opposite Fort Mifflin, where unfortunately for me I was run out of the channel in close to Monument Wharf and over what is known to sea cap- tains, as the coldest place on the Delaware River, full of cold springs. Close on to Red Bank I asked the man that was pi- loting me where T was, or had I passed the Block House, for I EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 19 did not take time to look around me. My guide, Captain Rudder, answered me by pointing with his left hand towards the Block House. I looked in the direction pointed out and was mortified to see that the Block House lay to my left, for I knew that to be in the right spot for a swimmer after passing it, I should have seen it over my right shoulder. However, I said nothing but kept on. I was informed at the same time that I was two and a half miles ahead of my opponent. About this time a small steamer called, I believe, the Isabel, of Phil- adelphia, chartered by a few of Mr. Johnson's friends, came up to me and seemed to be trying to run me down, for had I not swam to one side, it would have done so. They seemed. bent on mischief and kept that steamer close at my heels. Now, if they had passed on a piece ahead so that I could have fell in its wake it would have been a help to me, but the way they acted they annoyed me very much. The parties aboard were principally New Yorkers and Mr. Johnson's friends. It being my first race I forgot one important point, that was to dip my head every few minutes, as I was directed to do by my medical advisor, Dr. Cardeza, of Claymont, Delaware, a. week before the race. He was sick abed at the time and there was no one with me to remind.me of it. Consequently, when opposite Monument Wharf and two or two and a half miles ahead of Mr. Johnson, I took my second drink from the time I entered the water at Chester. I became unconscious all at once, and was taken out of the water two hours and fif- teen minutes from the time J left Chester. Word was quickly taken to Mr. Johnson of the state of affairs who continued to swim till told to get out by the judges and referee. But those parties did not notice how our articles of agreement read. They called for the man that came the nearest to the stake boat to be the winner. I was on the Jersey side and so was the stake boat. Mr. Johnson was in the main channel, or Pennsylvania side, and lacked being within half a mile as near 20 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. the stake boat as I. It took him fifty-two minutes to come up, in a direct line, to where I was taken out of the water. Had I been piloted up the main or Western channel that day, the race would have been mine easily. Everything was in my own hands if properly piloted at that place and that stage of the tide. Mr. Rudder was an old boat sailor, or boat racer, one of the best on the Delaware river. Probably the course he took me might have been the best one for a sail boat in a race, as it cuts off from a hundred to two hundred yards, but with a swimmer it is far different. It is far better for a swimmer to go almost double the distance and keep in the channel, or where the strong current is, for while a boat skips over the surface of the water, a man in the water swimming is down in it with his whole body and catches the current strong, if there be any. I cannot say but what Mr. Rudder intended well by me. The man only lived four days after the race. He took a parelytic stroke and died suddenly. My getting so far ahead of my opponent and, as it might be said, having everything my own way and then to lose the race was something that the people in general could not see in" to. A great many were under the impression that I sold the race, but, there was not money enough in this world to buy me that day. It is true that had I retained my consciousness for ten minutes longer nothing could have saved Mr. Johnson, for ten minutes more would have brought me to Red Bank wharf, and Mr. Johnson could not have made it that day, for the ebb tide would have struck him. As ft stands to-day that race is mine. It is a question whether Mr. Johnson could have swam across the river with the ebb tide setting against him, and in his played-out condition. However, he was awarded the race. About three o'clock next morning I recovered and the first question I asked those sitting about me, at the Surf House, Gloucester, was who won the race, for I knew that I was two or two and a half miles ahead of Mr. Johnson the last I knew EVERYBODY A SW1MMEK. 21 of anything. T was told by the doctor who waited on me that when taken out of the water my pulse beat thirty-three strokes to the minute. So I lost the greatest race that probably ever took place in this country, for very nearly all places of business were closed on that day, and all that could get aboard of a craft of any kind were on the river with their bands of music. It was generally supposed that I was drugged when I took that second drink, and I kind of thought so myself at the time ; but my experience in the water since has led me to know that it could occur without being drugged. After being over two hours in the water, using all my powers of exertion swimming, as it were, for dear life, and without dipping my head once during that long swim from Chester to Red Bank, on a very hot day, it was enough to send a rush of blood to the head ; and taking the second drink, of course, hurried the thing up. When I look back at the thing now I am surprised that I did so well, it being my first race and without any training. It is true I swam a little every day, but otherwise I was doing just the opposite of training. Some people would recommend one thing and some another in the way of drinks, and I did pretty much as directed by pretended friends. Our first race not being satisfactory, another was arranged to take place about four weeks later, or on the 24th day of August, 1875. It was to be from Lazaretto to Gloucester, This race Mr. Johnson trained very hard for, while I went backwards in training. Having no trainer I was eating and drinking just what I ought not to touch; and to top off all, on the day of the race and just before starting I rubbed coca- nut butter all over me twice, it being recommended by a friend, as he professed to be. He was a clerk in a Philadelphia store, aboutNinth and Chestnut streets, right among Mr. Johnson's Mends. It would be just what I would rub on myself now if I wanted to fix myself so that I could not swim. After swim- ming four or five miles it brought a chill on me so that I had 22 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. to get out of the water at once, but Johnson swam to Gloucester. Our third and last race took place on the 12th of October of the same year. It was a four mile race. Then, for the first time there was a trainer appointed by Mr. Thompson, whose hotel I trained at. During the two months previous I had been stopping at the Centennial Hotel kept by William Brooks and Michrel Hagerty. They treated me well during the time I was there but I had not collected my weekly pay of fifteen dol- lars, and consequently lost it altogether, for when 1 left there to train at Mr. Thompson's hotel it angered them so much that they refused to pay me. I have since received ten dollars from Mr. Brooks, who assured me that if Hagerty was the right kind of a man it would have been different. Mr. Thompson placed me in charge of Samuel Collier, ex- champion of light weights, one week before the race, and I must say Sam put me in good trim for such a short time. It was then I saw the benefit of having a good trainer. Mr. Johnson did not seem to be pleased with my going into train- ing, for he tried to make ill feeling between me and Collier. Not until this third and last race did I see what a great advantage Mr. Johnson had over me by using his over-hand stroke. When we started off for two or three {hundred yards he used the breast stroke, and while he used it we went side by side; but as soon as he began the overhand he walked away from me. Then I saw when too late the main cause of my de- feat. I also got Collier to rub me down before starting with more of that cocanut butter, but the race being short and the day a fine one it did not take such effect as on the second race. Idid not know at the time that it was the cocanut butter that brought on the chill, but I know now. It stops the pores in short order. A man needs his pores open in the water, so that he can sweat freely, the same as on dry land. That may sound strange to most people, but nevertheless it is true that a man sweats in the water when using threat exertion. Of course, a EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 23 person does not feel himself sweating on account of the water, being cooler than the blood. I have got out of the water after using considerable exertion and found myself sweating freely. If you are in shark quarters, when the water is very calm is the time that the sharks are on the forage, and you had better look out for yourself. It appears that during very rough weather they seek some place where they can be out of the roughness. They either sink to the bottom in deep water for that purpose, or into some hole where the sea is not so rough- During the four years I was out in the Navy, and about when sharks were plenty, we never could see any of them around the ship on a rough day. It is singular that.no matter how numerous they are, they will not trouble swimmers if a large crowd goes in bathing and keeps close together. They seem to be great cowards in that respect. While they will make for a single person in quick order, they have a great dread of num- bers. I remember while on the frigate Wabash, lying on the blockade off Charleston, S. C, during 1867, of frequently going into swim off of the ship with several hundred men at a time and not one person was ever disturbed, although sharks were very plentiful about them. But on one occasion when a young man dropped his hat overboard and jumped over after it, he had no sooner got to his hat and grabbed it than two sharks made for him with almost lightning speed, took him down under and that was the last ever seen of the poor fellow. It was in the afternoon of a line day; a boat was lowered and manned in about two minutes, and waited around for a glimpse of the unfortunate fellow, but the sharks never let him come to the surface again. I never can forget that, as it seemed to make a sad impression on all of the nine *or ten hundred men that formed the crew of the Wabash. On another occasion we lost a man overboard at the same place, from the U. S. Sloop of War Susquehanna, to which I had been transferred. It was dark and we were weighing an- 24 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. chor to go to Hilton Head. He got on the anchor to fasten it when brought to the bow of the vessel, and when they all thought it secured and took away the tackle it turned out throwing the poor fellow overboard, never to be seen again. When the anchor was reported up, the ship's engine was started ahead under one bell, and whether he was struck by the paddles (for the Susquehanna was a side wheeler) or seized by a shark, will never be known. Some foolish persons put great stress on the common rumor that a shark must turn on his back before he can bite. That is all bosh. A shark in the water is in his elements, while a person is out of his. A person swimming along the surface of the water cannot see a shark that is traveling along about five or six feet below the surface. While spending a few days at Atlantic City, about three years ago, I went out to give a little exhibition swim. The evening was a dead calm, with scarcely a ripple on the water. I made up my mind that if their were any sharks in the neigh- borhood they would be around near the shore. And sure enough, after being in the water from five to ten minutes ploughing along at a rapid rate, all at once Mr. Chriss Bradford, who accompanied me in a boat and was some little distance ahead, came to a stand-still on seeing a big shark lying on the surface of the water. Pointing to where his shark-ship lay he told me that there was a large shark. I took a look in the di- rection of his shark-ship. It did not take me long to make up^ my mind what to do. I made a few powerful strokes which soon landed me at the stern of Mr. Bradford's boat. As I got in the boat Mr. shark dispersed under the surface and did not show himself again. The board walk and beach was lined with people, and when I got into the boat they all thought I was exhausted. They could see no shark that far off as only his two fins showed out of water. Mr. Bradford said he thought it was about twelve feet long, judging by the distance between EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 25 his fins. When I was approaching him he lay still on the surface of the water, as if taking stock of me, and as I was going towards him I suppose he thought it as well to wait and let me come up to him, or probably he was not very hungry at the time. In 1875 I gave a little exhibition, by swimming from the inlet to the excursion house in less than one hour, and slack low water at that, and while crossing the bar nearly opposite the U. S. Hotel, one of my feet struck bottom which scared me badly, for it was my first swim at Atlantic City, and I was told previously that there were sharks about there. Those who ac- companied me in a row boat said I jumped nearly out of the water. Before I started on this swim the captain of the Life Guards was informed of my intentions, so that he or his men would not interfere with me. W T hen further informed that I intended to make it inside of one hour, the Captain surveyed me from head to foot two or three times and said that I could not do it, not in that time any how, but I accomplished it in fifty-eight minutes from the instant I leaped over at the inlet. Several thousand people followed me around by walking, and in carriages along the beach, and had a carriage waiting for me as I stepped on shore to convey me to a hotel. It was with difficulty that I got through the throng at the beach, for that was only about a week after my first swim with J. B. Johnson. I was the second person that had ever made that swim, not so much on account of the distance, but having two rough bars to cross, which, is a difficult job, as it is usually very rough at those places. Harry Ger, England's champion, was the man who accomplished it two years previous, and it seems singular that we both did it in fifty-eight minutes. While laying at Pt. A Petra, I undertook to accomplish a very foolish and hazardous feat. As I had been on board the Sloop of War Powhattan for over a year without, I might say, having my foot on shore, I began to think that it was nearly 26 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. time I had a run round, and accordingly I fixed it all right with the sentinel on the forecastle to turn his head to one side a little while I would swim off from the bow of the vessel. 1 lowered myself down to the water's edge by the anchor cable, and struck out for the shore, and in throwing my arms for- ward my loose blouse sleeve stopped my progress considerable ; and when the big boots 1 had on filled with water I felt as if I had about fifty pounds on each foot, and felt more like sinking and coming to anchor at the bottom of the sea than like swim- ming. It was then I saw how a person can be easily mistaken in undertaking to swim with clothes on, particularly a pair of boots. Although we were scarcely half a mile from the shore I soon made up my mind to return to the ship. While out cruising about the West Indies the Powhattan went into the Island of Guadaloupe, to coal ship, and while there the boys on board had a good chance to bathe evenings, after finishing coaling. All hands were piped into swim every evening. It was while there that I made my first challenge, as there were a lew good swimmers on board, but none of them would accept my challenge to swim for speed. Now, suppose a ship or a steamer is going along- at a good speed and a person falls overboard, what show is there of saving the person's life if he or she cannot swim a few strokes ? If the person cannot swim at all then they must drown, whereas, being able to paddle about for a few minutes gives a chance for the vessel to be stopped and a boat lowered. No person has any business about the water that cannot swim a little. It takes no mean swimmer to keep up that falls overboard oft a vessel with all their clothes on, while the ship is tacking about, or a steamer stopped and backed. I have seen several such cases. Once in going to Baltimore by steamer when a little below Chester, a drunken man jumped overboard. As he was drunk and deliberately jumped over, I thought I would not risk my life by jumping over after him; but I assisted in EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 27 launching a boat, which occupied about twenty minutes. It is said that being so drunk was what saved him. There was no swim in him, but he floated all that time. Two or three min- utes more and he would have drowned. INSTRUCTIONS FOR DIVING WITHOUT A DIVING BELL. I will simply give my own way of working- at that. I have a pole from twenty-five to thirty feet long-, with an iron prong at the bottom, by means of which I can tell pretty near what I strike at the bottom of the river. I sink it into the mud, if a soft bottom, and either make the top end fast to my boat, or get some one to steady it while I dive and pull myself down to the bottom. By using the pole I always know wliere I am going to. But it is not safe diving about wharves and piers without the pole, for a person diving without it cannot always tell where they are going or what they will strike their heads against below. I can, by means of the pole, dive in twenty-five feet and make fast to anything I want to take out. I do not care so much for the pole in coming to the surface; for in coming near the surface, if I am coming up all right, I can see a brightness or a glimmer of light through the water. But, on the other hand, if coming up under the bottom of a boat it is the reverse, it is complete darkness and I get away from it to where I can see the glimmer of light above me where I know I am all right. I have had occasion sometimes to take a pick down with me to kind of pick the thing T am after loose, but on going down without weighting myself I found that I could not pick up much without strapping about twenty or twenty-five pounds around my waist. A person EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 29 cannot stop down at the bottom without holding- on to some- thing- there. That is, while they hold their breath. Of course, it is different with a person who is drowning, they fill up with water inside and that is why they remain down on the bottom, but while they hold their breath it is impossible for a person to stop down without holding themselves there. The minute that I take hold of a grubbing hoe or pick, and start picking a thing out, that instant my feet fly up towards the surface, while the weight of the grubbing hoe in my hands keeps my head downwards. That makes good what I tell persons when learning to swim, that they can easily start swimming under the surface of the water right off, and by that means in a very short time be able to swim on the surface. It is only the weight of the head of a person that prevents them from swim- ming right off, without learning, particularly as learners think that their heads should be ever so far out of the water. When I first went down twenty feet I began to feel the heavy pressure on the head; and when down twenty-five feet it increased twenty per cent. It is very trying on the lungs and head at twenty-five feet. The deepest that I have tried yet is thirty feet, but I think I can go still deeper. It is not alone just the going down that distance, but the stopping down there a min- ute or so hunting an article or trying to pry a thing out of the mud is the worse part of it. I believe that if I was to attempt to get anything out of about thirty-five feet of water that I would come up with blood running out of my nose and mouth, and with blood -.shot eyes. It would take a large sum of mon- ey to tempt me to dive in over forty feet of water, though I have heard of men out in the Indies diving in about fifty feet. Probably where a party has a great deal of practice the whole year round at the business they can stand it, as practice makes perfect. Diving is a very risky business, and the man who follows it cannot be too careful of himself, particularly about wharves 30 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. and piers, as very often there are ends of wharf logs projecting out a few feet under the surface of the water. Then there are spikes sticking out where the logs have been knocked off and left the point ends in the inside logs. Again, there is the danger of sharp pointed bars of various kinds falling over off the wharf and hanging itself endwise in the mud below, with one end sticking up to run into a person's head that is not cautious how he dives. I would not take any money to risk my- self diving without my long pole, for then I know exactly where I am going, and also know when near the bottom, so that I go very slow and cautious when I find myself within three or four feet from the bottom. It is well to have marks on the pole about four or five feet from the bottom that you can tell by the feel of the hand when you reach it. Some twine wrapped around it would do for a mark. On the pole I use I have an iron rod four feet long at the bottom and when I come to where it is spliced I know I am near the bottom. SAILING AND ROWING. Though not a professional at either sailing or rowing, I feel that I ought to give a little advice to those who know nothing, or next to nothing, about either one. A person that wishes to learn to sail a boat should try his hand with what is known as a safe one, with a small sail. He should avoid undertaking to sail what is known as a cranky boat. See that the rigging is in good order before starting out, examine every line carefully, to see whether they are able to stand a little blow. Never take stone or any heavy article that will sink in the water, for ballast. Wood is about the best ballast, so that if a boat upsets it will not sink deep in the water, or to the bottom. In sailing do not try to run across a steamer's or sailing vessel's bow without you are sure beyond doubt that you can do it with safety. It is best to take your time and let them pass. It don't do to be in too big a hurry at any time. I ran a race with a ship on the Delaware about two years ago. It was sailing before a stiff Southwester, and I was in a fishing skiff headed Northward. My mast top cleared the ship's stays by a few inches, and as I shot out from under the ship's bow I saw the ship's company rush forward and look over her port bow to see whether I cleared or was run down. It was certainly a hairbreadth escape, for the'ship was making at least twelve miles per hour. When I am out sailing now I give ships and steamers a wide berth, as I do cars when on shore. 32 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. A person sailing along in a small boat and seeing a storm approaching in the shape of a black cloud, when it darkens the earth, should stop and take in sail, and wait a few minutes to see how severe it sets in, for when it strikes the boat you can- not always do it. When sailing along with the wind blowing from one quarter and you see a heavy black cloud approaching from another be sure if you value your life to take in sail, for a squall that comes in that manner is generally a severe one. No matter what your hurry is, it is best to stop and let your hurry pass on such occasions. Parties going out in small boats are very apt to neglect taking a lamp along, so that if caught out in the dark they are in great danger of being run down by vessels and steamers. A person so caught out at night with- out a lamp should keep as close to the shore as possible. Being caught out in a thick fog is also dangerous, and all boats should carry a horn that they could blow to warn off an approaching vessel. It is no very pleasant thing to be out in a fog without a compass, when you cannot tell which way you are going, or hear some familiar noise to be guided by. In such a fix a person having an anchor line long enough to reach the bottom of the river, can set themselves right every few minutes by dropping anchor and letting the boat swing around to the tide— knowing which way the tide is running at the time will give you a little idea which way to strike out, but it has to be repeated often; for a person in a fog, with no object or land in view to be guided by, is very likely to be turning round and round. Another good plan is — if you want to go along with the tide and risk being run down — if you have a heavy article in the boat that will sink, the larger the better, make it fast to your anchor and lower it into the water eight or ten feet if in deep water, and if you are in the channel when you do it you need not be afraid of leaving it, because in time of a fog it is always a calm and any heavy article such as a stone or piece of wood will sink. A sheet-iron bucket* EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 33 filled first with water and then let down, will hold a boat in the strongest current. A person can easily test that any time. I can start a boat adrift at Chester, on a calm day, fixed in that manner, on a young flood tide, and stake any amount on its reaching Philadelphia if not interfered with. If a large stone, that would weigh about one hundred pounds, were fixed on the anchor-rope and lowered eight or ten feet into the water, and the boat be given a start in the channel, it will take a very brisk wind to drive that boat out of the ship channel; but a person drifting in a fog in that manner should have a horn to be blowing at intervals of three or five minutes. The early spring of the year is the main time for fogs. A person who follows the water for a few years soon learns to judge pretty Well of the weather, and can generally tell a few hours ahead how it is going to turn out. During the fall, winter and spring, when it clears up after a rain or snow, and the wind is shifting from East to South, one out in a small boat had better look out, for from the South you will soon have a stiff Western wind, and very often too stiff for small crafts. During the summer, when there is a dead calm and the sun throws a kind of piercing heat, a little bit hotter than usual, look out for a sudden, heavy squall, generally from the Western sky. A person wishing to go any considerable distance by boat should always make it a point to have the tide with him both ways; then he will not meet with disappointment, as is often the case when parties depend altogether on the wind holding out. When the wind shifts tc Northeast it can generally be depended upon to last from one to three days, but not often over one day from the Westward, excepting in the winter time, when it blows the greater part of the time from that quarter. A great many people are under the impression that it is the moon that governs the tides, and that at the time of a full moon we have the large tides. This is a mistake as far as the 34 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. Delaware river is concerned, for I have noticed that the tides are governed by the winds. A Westerly wind for two or three days in succession will cause very small tides, and an Easterly wind is sure to make big tides. Every now and then there comes a tide that raises about three feet above the usual run of good tides, but we never get two such tides following in suc- cession. I mention this so that persons will not be deceived about the high tides and leave their boats away up on one of those very high tides so that when they want to use it the next high water they may not be disappointed by not finding water enough to float it off . I have often been fooled in that manner, and it will fool any one who does not have his boat always where he can get it off at a medium tide. Never use the center-board while sailing any way free. It is only to be used in beating to windward. - Particularly in running before a gale of wind you should have your center- board up, so that your boat will be fairly carried along by the wind. A heavy blow cannot affect a person one-half so much when running before it as when he undertakes to beat against it. In running before the wind, or a heavy blow, be sure that you have a strong sheet-rope, because in a heavy storm it is far better to have the mast carried away than to have the sheet-rope break. It is but a few days since I was caught in a severe storm, with sail up, on a little craft, and while ploughing the water at the rate of about fifteen miles an hour, my only fear was in the sheet-rope giving away. (This I mean for a small boat and in a sort of a gale.) In such a case a small boat would be apt to swamp the instant that the rope broke. Rowing looks very simple, but a person who takes hold of the oars f er the first few times finds that it is not so easy to row or handle the oars as one would imagine by seeing an expert rowing. It is easy telling a green hand at the oars. When he attempts to row he raises his oars from two to three feet out of the water, though he may be rowing in smooth water, and EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 35 if ever you saw a worm fence he would put you in mind of one. Oh the other hand, it is easy to tell a good rower as soon as he takes the oars in hand and makes one or two strokes. A good rower will raise his oars out of the water, or above the water, according to the roughness of it. In a smooth surface he barely raises the blades out, but skims the surface with the feathered oars. In a rough sea he raises the oars in proportion to the roughness of the water. In a rough sea way it is necessary to raise the oars pretty well out of the water, so as not to miss a stroke. Another great point about rowing is how you balance your boat. Every row boat should have two oar-lock places, one right in the center and the other about three feet back towards the stern, so that when there is but one person in the •boat, and no other ballast, he puts his oar-locks in the after oar-lock places; and with another person, or other ballast, he uses the forward holes. It is well for a person, as soon as he learns to row good sitting with his back to the bow of the boat, to learn to row fisherman style — that is, by facing the bow; and whsn in a fishing skiff they generally stand up at it. A man who learns to row good that way can force a boat ahead through a heavy wind much better thau by the regular way of rowing. A person rowing that way, and putting one foot back against the seat, or something of the kind, has great power with his oars. Besides, it is a relief to change sometimes and have a stand up to row. A great point with beginners, too, is this: By being ignorant of the workings of the tide they often give themselves a great deal of unnecessary pulling by getting out in a strong tide and having to pull against it. In facing a strong tide one should hug the shore as close as possible, and when going with the tide he should get out into the strongest part of it — that is, always in what is known as the ship channel. This rule should be adopted in either rowing or sailing. Another very important point to be borne in mind by par- ties out sailing is to be sure and keep the anchor secured taut 36 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. in the boat, so that in case of the boat upsetting in a storm the anchor will not drop to the bottom and keep the boat bot- tom up. The handiest way would be to have a strap across the bow, running through the head of the anchor so as to hold it in place. If the boat upsets it is necessary for it to be able to drift, whereas if the anchor falls it will hold it there and thus endanger the lives of those having it in charge by dragging the boat under. Signal Lights. — It is well for those who go out in small boats to understand the meaning of a ship's lights, aad the course they are taking, so as to keep out of their way. The following are the rules for the guidance of vessels, in the matter of lights: All sea-going steam vessels shall, between sunset and sunrise, exhibit the following lights : A bright white light at the foremast head~. A green light on the starboard side. A red light on the port side. Steam vessels, under sail only, are not to carry their mast- head lights. TREATMENT OF THE DROWNING. The Philadelphia Board of Health has issued the following directions for the restoration of persons apparently drowned, which are the result of extensive inquiries made by the Royal National Life Boat Institution amongst medical men through- out Great Britain : FIRST. Send immediately for medical assistance, blankets and dry clothing, but proceed to treat the patient instantly on the spot, in the open air, with the face downwards, whether on shore or afloat; exposing the face, neck and chest to the wind, except in severe weather, and removing all tight clothing from the neck and chest, especially the braces. The points to be aimed at are — first and immediately, the restoration of breathing; and secondly, after breathing is re- stored, promotion of warmth and circulation. The efforts to restore breathing must be commenced im- mediately and energetically, and persevered in for one or two hours, or until a medical man has pronounced that life is ex- tinct. Efforts to promote warmth and circulation beyond re- moving the wet clothes and drying the skin must not be made until the first appearance of natural breathing. For if cir- culation of the blood be induced before breathing has recom- menced, the restoration to life will be endangered. SECOND — TO RESTORE BREATHING. To Clear the Throat — Place the patient on the floor or ground with the face downwards, and one of the arms under 38 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. the forehead, in which position all fluids will more readily es- cape by the mouth, and the tongue itself will fall forward, leaving the entrance into the windpipe free. Assist this operation by wiping and cleansing the mouth. If satisfactory breathing commences, use the treatment de- scribed below to promote warmth. If there be only slight breathing — or no breathing — or if the breathing fail, then — To Excite Breathing — Turn the patient well and instantly on the side, supporting the head, and — Excite the nostrils with snuff, hartshorn, and smelling salts, or tickle the throat with a feather, &c, if they are at hand. Rub the chest and face warm, and dash cold water, or cold and hot water alternately, on them. If there be no success, lose not a moment, but instantly — To Imitate Breathings — Replace the patient on the face, raising and supporting the chest well on a folded coat or other article of dress. Turn the body very gently on the side, and, a little beyond, and then briskly on the face and back again, repeating these measures cautiously, efficiently and perseveringly about fifteen times in the minute, or once every four or five seconds, occa- sionally varying the side. [By placing the patient on the chest, the weight of the body forces the air out; when turned on the side, this pressure is re- moved and air enters the chest.] On each occasion that the body is replaced on the face, make uniform but efficient pressure with brisk movement on the back between and below the shoulder blades or bones on each side, removing the pressure immediately before turning the body on the side. During the whole of the operation attend solely to the movements of the head, and of the arm placed under it. [The first measure increases the Expiration, the second com- mences Inspiration.] EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 39 %* The result is Respiration or Natural Breathing — and if not too late, Life. Whilst the above operations are being proceeded with, dry the hands and feet, and as soon as dry clothing or blankets can be procured strip the body and cover, or gradually reclothe it, but taking care not to interfere with the efforts to restore breathing. *.THIRD. Should these efforts not prove successful in the course of from two to five minutes, proceed to imitate breathing be Dr. Sylvester's method, as follows: Placa the patient on the back of a flat surface; inclined a little upwards from the feet; raise and support the head and shoulders on a firm cushion or folded article of dress placed under the shoulder-blades. Draw forward the patient's tongue and keep it projecting beyond the lips ; an elastic band, over the tongue and under the chin will answer this purpose, or a piece of string or tape may be tied around them, or, by raising the lower jaw the teeth may be made to retain the tongue in that position. Remove all tight clothing from about the neck and chest, especially the braces. To Imitate the Movements of Breathing— Standing at the patient's head, grasp the arms just above the elbow, and draw the arms gently and steadily upwards above the head, and keep them stretched upwards for two seconds. [By this means air is drawn into the lungs.] Then turn down the patient's arms, and press them gently and firmly for two seconds against th e sides of the chest. [By this means air is pressed out of the lungs.] Repeat these measures alternately, deliberately, and perse- veringly, about fifteen timas in a minute, until a spontaneous effort to respire is seen, then cease and proceed to induce cir- culation and warmth. 40 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER, FOURTH — TREATMENT AFTER NATURAL BREATHING HAS BEEN RESTORED. To Promote Warmth and Circulation — Commence rubbing the limbs upwards, with firm grasping- pressure and energy, using handkerchiefs, &c. [By this measure the blood is pro- pelled along the veins towards the heart.] The friction must be continued under the blanket or over the dry clothing. Promote the warmth of the body by the application of hot flannels, bottles or bladders of hot water, heated bricks, &c, to the pit of the stomach, the arm-pits, between the thighs and to the soles of the feet. If the patient has been carried to a house after respiration has been restored, be careful to let the air play freely about the room. On the restoration of life, a teaspoonful of warm water should be given; and then, if the power of swallowing has returned, small quantities of wine, warm brandy and water, or coffee should be administered. The patient should be kept in bed and a disposition to sleep encouraged. General Observations — The above treatment should be perse" vered in for some hours, as it is an erroneous opinion that per- sons are irrecoverable because life does not soon make its ap- pearance, persons having been restored after persevering for many hours. APPEARANCES WHICH GENERALLY ACCOMPANY DEATH. Breathing and the heart's action cease entirely; the eyelids are generally half closed; the pupils dilated; the tongue ap- proaches to the under edges of the lips, and these, as well as the nostrils, are covered with a frothy mucus. Coldness and pal" lor of surface increase. cautions. Prevent unnecessary crowding of persons round the body, especially if in an apartment. 41 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. Avoid rough usage, and do not allow the body to remain on the back, unless the tongue is secured. Under no circumstance hold the body up by the feet. On no account place the body in a warm bath, unless under medical direction, and even then it should be employed as a momentary excitant. COYLE AS A SWIMMER. To show what was thought of Thomas Coyle as a swimmer at the time of the great swimming match between him and Johnson, the English champion, in 1875, the following is ap- pended from the Philadelphia City Item of that time, being an account of a trial swim previous to the great contest : The excursion down the river was thoroughly enjoyed by the passengers, and when the steamer arrived at Chester she was greeted with loud huzzas from an immense number of Coyle' s friends on the wharf. After lying too for some time, the "Neilson" put off from the Water-works' wharf, and after drifting a short distance, Coyle got in a small boat, accompan- ied by his trainer, Mr. Brooks; his brother, Edward Coyle, and a City Item reporter, and at eighteen minutes after three he made a dive, and then commented his great feat, which, if ac- complished, would stand unparalleled. But the general opin- ion was that the feat could not be done, owing to the coldness of the water, caused by the late heavy rains, and the head wind, which was blowing quite a gale. But still the plucky and undaunted Coyle tried it, and as he said that he thought he could not do it, in consequence of the coldness of the water and the heavy head-wind, yet he would make a good attempt. Coyle commenced swimming 38 strokes to the minute, and kept increasing them until he left the water. Opposite the Lazaretto, which is four miles from the place of starting, he had been in the water just fifty minutes, and feeling very good. On the wharf, in front of the physicians' headquarters, he was 43 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. greeted with great applause by a large number of persons and waving of hankerchiefs by the ladies. At Lodge's Point he took his first drink, brandy and Jamai- ca ginger, which was carefully prepared and given to him by his trainer, William Brooks. This seemed to stimulate him con- siderably, for he commenced to strike out at a more rapid pace increasing his stroke to forty- two a minute. This rapid swimming was kept up for some time, contrary to the advice given him by his trainer, and although Coyle was looking as fresh, as when he started, still Mr. Brooks enter- tained grave doubts if this increase of speed would not be a serious drawback in the accomplishment of the feat. At the lower end of League Island the wind, which contin- ued to blow very heavy, shifted to the westward and caused the sea to become very rough making the swimming very dif- ficult. At this time another drink was given him, and others at intervals of twenty minutes. At quarter of six, when about a mile south of the Block House, and just as Coyle had taken a drink and finished his eighth mile, his trainer caught him by the arm and insisted on him getting into the boat, much to the chagrin of Coyle, who said, "I feel good enough; let me make it." In getting in the boat he required no assistance, and with the exception of a slight stupor from the several drinks his condition was ex- cellent. On landing at Gloucester from the tugboat Stag he was the recipient of unbounded enthusiasm, and it was with great dif- ficulty he reached the hotel. After repeated calls from his friends to show himself and say something to them, he was raised on the bar and given three times three cheers with plenty of "tigers." After a few remarks by his trainer, Mr. Brooks, Mr. Coyle said: "I thank you, my dear friends, for this kind favor. I did not expect to swim the distance, after I found out how cold the water was. It is too cold. I could have swam EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 44 further, but Mr. Brooks would not let me." At this time some enthusiastic admirer proposed three cheers for Coyle and the American Flag, which were given heartily. Mr. Coyle continuing, said, "I can make it I know, but every- thing was against me^to-day. I thank you again my friends, and I bid you good-bye." After this neat little speech he was compelled to go through a round of hand-shaking, which was kept up for a long while, he finally reached his own room after great difficulty; and after a few moment's talking with his brother, laid down and was soon asleep. This exertion of Mr. Coyle yesterday stamps him as a man of great endurance, and unquestionably one of the best swim- mers in the world. It is undoubtedly beyond any man's ability to do more than Mr. Coyle yesterday, and probably he could have gone the whole distance. This will certainly not affect his chances for the championship on the 24th instant. 4 on -A LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 020 237 019 6