358 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 27, 1886. 



Being agreed as to the three essential qualities of a life-buoy, let us 

 proceed to discuss in what shape it had best be made, in order to 

 combine those qualities; an end most quickly attained by first con- 

 demning those shapes which are incapable of such a combination. 

 At the head of this list may safely he placed the spherical or globular 

 shape-than which no other is known to possess such excessive and 

 universal instability, both on laud or in the water, i. e., no other shape 

 is so easily tipped, canted, or overturned in auy and every direction, 

 when on land or in the water. 



A sphere of uniform density is the only floating body which can 

 never be in stable equilibrium, whether its specific gravity allows of its 

 floating wholly or otily partially immersed. Life-buoys, of course, are 

 never wholly immersed when not in use, or they would not fulfil their 

 first essential qualification ; and I merely dwell upon the above pecu- 

 liarity of the spherical shape to prove that the further we depart from 

 it the more efficient the life-buoy. It is obvious, therefore, that the 

 fewer directions in which a life-bnoy is liable to revolve or overturn, 

 when subjected to the efforts of a person in the water to grasp and 

 utilize it, so much the better. 



The tendency of such efforts is invariably to cause the life-buoy to 

 revolve toward the person who attempts to lay hold of it; conse- 

 quently, that shape must be the best which admits of its revolving in 

 the fewest directions (under the same pressure), or admits oE its re- 

 volving without destroying its efficiency as a support; and these con- 

 ditions are met with only where breadth and thickness are sacrificed to 

 length, as is the case when the float is shaped like a pole or spar. 



Thus on grasping a large oar or boat's mast anywhere near the middle 

 of its length, the body is easily drawu toward it without any revolu- 

 tion at all, and if laid hold of at either end, although it will naturally 

 sink to a certain extent, it is nevertheless an easy matter to haul in 

 on it until the center is reached, when all that is required is to pass 

 the arms over it, and it forms at once an efficient float more easy to 

 retain effective hold of in broken water than if of any other shape. 

 A similar advantae-e is possessed, to a certain extent, by all wooden 

 benches and long seats commonly found upon ship's upper decks, 

 and which, when detached, form excellent life buoys per se. By the 

 aid of a few simple illustrations I will now show that life buoys of 

 other shapes are almost utterly useless to those who cannot swim, 

 whether lashed to them or not, and how diffledt it is for even (hose 

 who can swim to utilize thena to any practical extent for a prolonged 

 time; and moreover, that if lashed to the body, they prove a source 

 of the greatest danger even to experienced swimmers. Let us sup 

 pose that two men are overboard, a swimmer and a non-swimmer, 

 and that a life buoy is grasped by ench; and let us further suppose 

 that these life buoys are of the stereotyped pattern, which is appar- 

 ently so highly thought of by naval authorities. If the swimmer 

 happens to be familiar with this particular life buoy, he will deftly 

 duck under it, or pull it over his head, and then, slipping one arm up 



Fig 1. 



through it at a time, will find himself in the position shown in Fig. 1; 

 and if he does not want to swim, he is in a very good position for 

 merely floating. If, on the other hand, he is not acquainted with 

 the proper way to get into a circular life buoy, he is pretty sure to 

 make a mess of it ana his mode of setting to work will at rlrst cer- 

 tainly result as shown in Fig. 2; but finding the result the reverse of 



Fig. 2. 



pleasant he will speedily change to ihe position depicted in - Fig. 3, 

 and a most difficult position to maintain if there is no motion in the 

 water, but well nigh an impossible one if the sea is running rough . The 

 unfortunate man who cannot swim will pull the buoy over him just 

 as the novice did in Fig. 2; but, unlike him, will not be able to regain 

 the surface unless he leave go the buoy : in either case it is not diffi- 

 cult to foretell what his fate will quickly be if not rescued. The swim- 

 mer in Fig. 3 must be a very handy mau in the water, or he never 



Fig. 3. 



could have attained the position in which we see him; he is in fact 

 performing a balancing feat, combined with one of strength, for 

 everyone who, when immersed, endeavors to hoist himself up the 

 side of a boat, raft, or other large floating object, or tries to draw 

 himself over or upon a smaller one, which at the same time he is 

 foreing down beneath him, is in a less degree going through the same 

 muscular exertion as the man has gone through who, starting with 

 his chin level with his hands, has raised his body into a vertical posi- 

 tion on a horizontal bar. The man in the water has the disadvantage 

 of a movable object to struggle with and hoist himself upon, and if 

 dressed the extra weight of his clothes covering that part of his body 

 •which he raises above the water as against the diminished weight of 

 the submerged portion of his body due to the buoyancy of the water. 

 On the other hand the man on the bar has the advautage of a rigid 

 object beneath him, as against the whole weight of his body very 

 lightly clad. To get on to any floating body is difficult, but to 

 stay there in any desired position is still more so; in fact, to stay 

 there at all, I have already explained, is a matter of impossibility 

 where there is much motion. Buoyant articles improperly attached 

 to a person about to be immersed are only a means of drowning him 

 at the surface instead of at a greater depth. Let us suppose a ship's 

 deck to be plentifully provided with patent life saving campstools, 

 seats, basins, hassocks, hen coops, buckets, hatches, etc., while below 

 are life-saving cushions and mattresses galore, when suddenly there 

 arises urgent need of these supposed means of safety. Imagine, too, 

 that there ia absence of panic, and therefore the women and^those 



men who cannot swim are first thought of, and each has one of these 

 various life-preservers lashed to them in the manner which seems 

 best to those who undertake the office, viz., either at one side, in 

 front or behind. The vessel then sinks or goes to pieces, and they 

 are all left floating about, it is true, but with slender chances of sur- 

 viving the first ten minutes. A swimmer could manage fairly well in 

 still water, whether the float was lashed back or front; if at one side, 

 he deserves greater sympathy; although he might prefer being with- 

 out either, and more especially the latter. We have only to look at 

 the three next figures to see how the non-swimmer would fare under 



Fig. 4. 



these trying circumstances. To any one altogether unused to the 

 water, it would ma~ter very little under which arm the float is lashed, 

 tor he will very soon drown. 

 In Fig. 5, we see how, after fruitless and desperate efforts to 



Fig. 5. 



maintain the position shown in Fig. 4, the floating power of the so- 

 called life preserver asserts itself, and the unhappy castaway turns 

 face upward and infallibly perishes. The subject of Fig. 6 has 

 a somewhat better chance, at all event* for a time, and if he will 

 only push vigorously with the palms of his hands, and allow his feet 



Fig. 6. 



to sink if they will, he may counteract the tendency of the float to 

 keep him horizontal and face downward, and so keep breathing till 

 assistance arrives; but unfortunately, this is precisely what it re- 

 quires a good knowledge of swimming to accomplish, so his chance 

 is but a poor one, for if bis feet rise and his hands sink, he will soon 

 take in enough water to suffocate him. Unless properly attached to 

 an artificial means of flotation— as. for instance, vhere two floats are 

 fixed at opposite sides of a man's body, so as to counteract each 

 other— it is evidently in most cases better not to be lashed at all to 

 such '"life preservers" as those I have described, and it only tbere 

 fore remains to be shown what really happens when such articles are 

 floating about in the water and are seized upon, either by drowning 

 people struggling to save their lives, or by swimmers who, for amuse- 

 ment, make experiments with such fanciful contrivances. I think I 

 need not do more than consider the case under the latter conditions, 

 and leave my readers to draw their own conclusions as to what would 

 happen under the former. When a swimmer lays hold of anything 

 at the surface of the water, he either pulls it over him or pulls him- 

 self under it, according as it may be lighter or heavier than himself, 

 movable or fixed. As we are dealing only with small movable ob- 

 jects, we must assume that he pulls it over or upon his chest; but 

 this is precisely what he does not desire— his wish being for his chest 

 to be higher, or at all events, as high as the float he has hold of. so 

 he sets to work to counteract this natural tendency of all floats. How 

 is he to do this? 



By seizing it with both hands and proceeding, as the man with the 

 horizontal bar does, to raise himself above it. This, of course, de 

 presses the float in the water and raises the center of gravity of the 

 new combination (i. e , man and float) to such a height that equilib- 

 rium could only be maintained by great nicety of balancing, every 

 motion of the water being counteracted by prompt and correspond - 

 ins movements and inclinations of body and limbs. Imagiue the dif- 

 ficulties of the mau on a horizontal bar being increased by a tendency 

 on the part of the bar to oscillate sideways, and some notion of the 

 obstacles to be overcome by a swimmer poised upon such a float may 

 be arrived at. In a rough sea one. would soon slip off the top of a 

 float as large as a table, and although more easy to embrace, one 

 would have to leave go of a sphere or cube as quickly. To keep the 

 center of gravity as low as possible and to be able to flex the fore- 

 arms on the furthest side of the float aie things greatly to be desired, 

 and with what shaped float is it so easy to do this as with a long, thin 

 one* I am. of course, supposing the displacement of these several 

 floats to be identical. In Fig. 7 the artist has not made the man 



Fig. 7. 



look particularly cheerful, but he is safe for all that, and the more 

 he presses his shoulders and chest over and against the spar, the less 

 his feet and legs will tend to rise under it; moreover, he can always 

 relieve the strain upon his arms by placing one foot over it. This 

 position is the natural one adopted by all human beings when en- 

 deavoring to climb up or look over a wall, and as such cannot fail to 

 recommend itself to non-swimmers as well as swimmers; while it has 

 the merit of being more within the compass of the foimer than any 

 other position involving more advanced gymnastics. 



These few illustrations will suffice to prove to most people that 

 where patience, practice or skill is required of a good swimmer 

 to enable bim to use a so-called life preserver with even temporary 

 effect, it follows beyond doubt that contrivances of the kind can only 



be snares to those who cannot swim, and as such deserve the fullest 

 condemnation. Having finished with floats of various kinds which 

 are not attached to the body, we come to those which it is usual to 

 so attach, and which are by no meaus so numerous. Of these it mav 

 be said that none of tbem are objectionable, excepting in matters of 

 detail, such as convenience, mode of attachment, etc., for all. pro- 

 vided they be of proper flotation, will support a man whether he can 

 swim or not, and are therefore entitled to the name of life preservers. 

 Having tested every known kind, both as regards variety of make' 

 and means adopted to obtain power of flotation, I am in a position 

 to speak positively as to their respective merits and demerits. Some 

 consist of two large blocks of cork or tin canisters attached to the 

 bony at the back and chest. A more usual plan is that where the 

 blocks of cork, instead of being two are six or eight in number, and 

 are placed all around the body; and this form is what, with very 

 slight improvements, has for upward of twenty years been known as 

 a cork jacket, and until quite recently was in fact the only life belt— 

 a state of things wnieh we may all congratulate ourselves is now 

 cianged. 



During the last ten years efforts have been made to increase the 

 number of pieces of cojk used in making these and similar life-belts. 

 This reduction in the size, and increa-e in the number, of the pieces 

 of cork naturally necessitated the area over which they are spread 

 being considerably extended, and this has at length resulted in linings 

 for coats being now obtainable of such a moderate thickness and ex- 

 cessive flexibility as neither to inconvenience nor disfigure their 

 wearer while at the same time they are more than equal to the task 

 of floating bim. 



The vast importance of knowing how to swim it is impossible to 

 overrate, and here I may define the knowledge of swimming, as gen- 

 erally accepted to represent ability to keep afloat when fully dressed, 

 in fresh water, for a limited period. I do not care how incorrectly 

 a man or woman may move their limbs or how slowly they may pro- 

 gress in the water; neither does it matter for my purpose how timid 

 they may be of jumping or plunging from a height, or how incapable 

 of diving, or even assisting another fellow when immersed. Profi- 

 ciency in such matters belongs to the more advanced stage of the 

 subject and depends on perseverance and practice, as well as on per- 

 sonal characteristics, such as courage and physique. All that is 

 necessary for the purposes of self preservation from drowning is, 

 that man, woman, or cnild shoul l be sufficiently at borne in the water, 

 that the fact of immersion should not deprive them of their presence 

 of mind, and that they should possess the power to move their limbs 

 in such a manner as to turn in any desired direction, and keep their 

 head above water in spite of the added weight of clothing. 



As stated at the beginning of Chapter I the movements in swim- 

 ming, in the case of human beinps. are very different from the action 

 of the limbs when on land. This follows from the fact that the posi- 

 tion of the body when swimming must be that which offers the least 

 resistance to the water, viz., horizontal and the head foremost; 

 whereas on land man progresses in a position which offers the great- 

 est resistance possible to a surrounding fluid. How very different the 

 case is with most other animals a thought will show. The following 

 are the approved and correct movements to be observed in ordinary 

 or breast-stroke swimming: Draw the inside of the elbows against 

 the ribs and the forearms and wrists close up to the chest with the 

 thumb 'nails flat against each other, and all eight fingers in a hori- 

 zontal plane and touching one another. During this operation the 

 thighs should be fully open, the knees bent to the utmost and the 

 heels placed together with ihe toes of each foot pointing outward. 

 From this contracted position the hands are now pushed smartly 

 forward away from the chest, along and just underneath the surface 

 ot the water, until the arms are straightened to their fullest reach 

 with the hands turned back to ba'"k; the legs meanwhile have been 

 kicked out sideways and straightened to their fullest extent, very 

 wide apart. 



The beginner is now in the position to make the stroke. This is 

 done by sweeping the arms apart horizontally beneath but near the 

 surface, to a position where each has described three-quarters of a 

 semi-circle, and simultaneously bringing the legs rigidly together 

 until the feet touch; the inside suiface of each leg is thus the force 

 in contact with the water, and not the back and sole of the foot, as 

 is the case with many less correct ways of making the leg stroke. 

 What I have described constitutes the leg stroke, and from this posi- 

 tion the limbs are drawn up again as quickly as possible to the 

 cramped attitude first described. It will he noticed that at the com- 

 mencement of the stroke tbe arms are extended in contact, and the 

 legs are extended apart, while at the end of the stroke the arms are 

 extended apart, and the legs are extended in contact. The motion 

 thus is three-fold— tbe recovery or conlraction preparatory to the ex- 

 tension, the extension preparatory to the stroke, and the stroke 

 itself. 



The following directions for restoring the apparently dead, either 

 from drowning or other suffocation, or from narcotic poisoning, are 

 recommended by the Royal Humane Society. 



Send immediately for medical assistance, blankets and dry cloth- 

 ing, but proceed to treat the patient instantly, securing as much 

 fresh air as possible. 



The points to be aimed at are: First and immediately, the restora- 

 tion of breathing; and secondly, after breathing is restored, the pro- 

 motion of warmth and circulation. 



The efforts to restore life must be persevered in until the arrival of 

 medical assistance, or until the pulse and breathing have ceased for 

 at least an hour. 



• TREATMENT TO RES0RE NATURAL BREATHING. 



Rule 1.— To maintain a free entrance of air into the windpipe: 

 Cleanse the mouth and nostrils; open the mouth; draw forward the 

 patient's tongue, and keep it forward; an elastic band under the chin 

 will answer this purpose. Remove all tight clothing from about the 

 neck and chest. 



Rule 2. — To adjust the patient's position: Place the patient on his 

 hack on a flat surface, inclined a little from the feet upward ; raise 

 and support the head and shoulders on a small, firm cushion or 

 folded articles of dress placed under the shoulder blades. 



Rule 3.— To imitate the movements of breathing: Grasp the 

 patient's arms just above the elbows, and draw the arms gently and 

 steadily upward till they meet above the head (this is for the purpose 

 of drawing air into the lungs), and keep the arms in that position for 

 two seconds. Then turn down the patient's arms and press them 

 gently and firmly for two seconds against the sides of the chest (this 

 is with the object of pressing air out of the lungs. Pressure on the 

 breast bone will aid this. Repeat these measures alternately, delib- 

 erately and perseveringly fifteen times in a minute, until a spontane- 

 ous effort to respire is perceived, immediately upon which cease to 

 imitate the movements of breathing and proceed to induce circula- 

 tion and warmth (as below). Should a warm bath be procurable, the 

 body may be placed in it up to the neck, continuing to imitate the 

 movements of breathing. Raise the body in twenty seconds in a 

 sitting position, and dash cold water against the chest and face and 

 pass ammonia under the nose. The patient should not be kept in the 

 warm bath longer than five or six minutes. But it is preferable that 

 artificial respiration and friction of the limbs and body with dry 

 flannel or clothes should be first had recourse to, and that the warm 

 bath should not be employed till there is proof of respiration having 

 been restored. 



Rule 4.— To excite inspiration: During the employment of the above 

 method excite thejnostrih with snuff or smelling salts, or tickle the 

 throat with a featner. Rub the chest and face briskly, and dash cold 

 and hot water alternately on them. 



TREATMENT AFTER NATURAL BREATHING HAS BEEN RESTORED. 



Rule 5.— To induce circulation and warmth: Wrap the patient in 

 dry blankets and commence rubbing tbe limbs upward, firmly and 

 energetically. The friction must be continued under the blankets or 

 wver the dry clothing. Promote the warmth of the body by tbe appli- 

 cation of hot flannels, bottles or bladders of water, heated bricks, etc., 

 to the pit of tbe stomach, the armpits, between the thighs, and to the 

 soles of the feet. Warm clothing may generally be obtained from 

 bystanders. On the restoration of life, when the power of swallowing 

 has returned, a teaspoonful of warm water, smah quantities of wine 

 or coffee should be given. The patient should be kept in bed, and a 

 disposition to sleep encouraged. During reaction large mustard 

 plasters to the chest and below the shoulders will greatly relieve the 

 distressed breathing, 



APPEARANCES WHICH GENERALLY INDICATE DEATH. 



There is no breathing or heart's action ; the eyelids are generally 

 half closed; the pupils dilated; the jaws clenched ; the fingers semi- 

 contracted; tbe tongue appearing between the teeth, and the mouth 

 and nostrils are covered with a frothy mucus. Coldness and pallor 

 of surface increases. 



OBSERVATIONS, 



On the restoration of life, a teaspoonful of warm water should be 

 given, and then, if the power of swallowing be returned, small quan- 

 tities of warm wine or weak brandy and water, warm; and patient 

 should be kept in bed, and a disposition to sleep encouraged, except 

 in cases of apoplexy, intoxication, and sunstroke. Oreat care 

 is requisite to maintain the restored vital actions, and at the same 

 time to prevent undue excitement. 



The treatment recommended by the Society is to be persevered in 

 for three or four hours. It is an erroneous opinion that persons are 

 irrecoverable because life does not soon make its appearance, s.s 

 cases have come under the notice of the society of a successful 

 result even after five hours' perseverance— and it is absurd to su 4 v 

 pose that a body must not be meddled with or removed without the 

 permission of a coroner. 



