FOR SAVING DROWNING PERSONS BY SWIMMING TO THEIR RELIEF.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 17, Issue 67, 24 August 1906, Page 2

FOR SAVING DROWNING PERSONS BY SWIMMING TO THEIR RELIEF.

— INSTRUCTIONS. 1. When you approach ft person drowning in the water, assure him, in a loud and firm voice, that he is safe. 2. —Before jumping in to save mm, divest yourself as far and as quickly as possible of all clothes ; tear them off if necessary ; but if there is not time, loose, at all events, the foot of your drawers if they are tied, as, if you do not do so, they will fill with water, and drag you. 3;—On swimming to a person in the water, if he is struggling, do not seize him then, but keep off for a few seconds, till ho gets quiet, which will be after he gets a mouthful or two ; for it is sheer madness to take hold of a man when he is struggling in the water, and if you do you run a great risk. 4. Then get close to him and get fast hold of the hair of bis head, turn him as quickly as possible on his back, give him a sudden pull, and this will cause him to float; then throw yourself on your back also, and swim for the shore, both hands having hold of his hair, you on your back and he also on his, and of course, his back to your stomach. In this way you will get sooner and safer ashore than by any other means, and you can easily thus swim with two or three persons the writer has often, as an experiment, done it with four, and gone with them forty or fifty yards. into the sea. One great , advantage of this method is that it enables you to keep your head up, and also to hold the person's head up you are trying to save. It is of primary importance that you take fast hold of the hair, and throw both the person and yourself on your back. After many experiments I find this vastly preferable to all other methods. You can, in this manner, float nearly as long as you please, or until a boat or other help can be obtained. 5. I believe there is no such thing as a death-grasp—at least, it must be unusual, for I have seen many persons drowned and have witnessed it. As soon as a drowning man begins to get feeble, and to lose his recollection he gradually slackens his hold until he quits altogether. No apprehension need, therefore, be felt on that head when attempting to rescue a drowning person. 6th. After a person has sunk to the bottom, if the water be smooth, the exact position where the body lies may be known by The air-bubbles which will occasionly rise to the surface, allowance being of course, made for the motion of the water, if in a tide-way or stream, which will have carried the bubbles out of a perpendicular course in rising to the surface, allowance being of course, made for the motion of the water. A body may be often _ regained from the bottom before it is too late for recovery by diving for it in the direction indicated by these bubbles. 7th. On rescueing a person by diving to the bottom, the hair of the head should be seized by, one hand only, and the other used in conjunction with the feet in raising yourself and the drowning person to the surface. Bth. If .In the sea, it may sometimes be a great error to try to get to land. If there be a strong "outsetting” tide, and you are swimming either by yourself or having hold of a person who cannot swim, then get on to your back and float till help comes. Many a ■ man exhausts him- ! self by stemming the billows for the ‘ shore on a back-going tide, and sinks in the effort, when, if he had floated, 1 a boat or other aid might have been obtained. I 9th. These instructions apply alike to all circumstances, whether the sea or smooth water.— i "Journal Royal National Lifeboat Institution, London.”