Here the swimmer must be more erect than usual, hold his head more
backward, and use the legs and arm more quickly and powerfully. The
arm, at its full extent, must be struck out rather across the body,
and brought down before, and the breast kept inflated. This mode of
swimming is best adapted for assisting persons who are drowning, and
should be frequently practised--the learner carrying first under, then
over the water, a weight of a few pounds.
In assisting drowning persons, however, great care should be taken to
avoid being caught hold of by them. They should be approached from
behind, and driven before, or drawn after the swimmer to the shore,
by the intervention, if possible, of anything that may be at hand,
and if nothing be at hand, by means of their hair; and they should,
if possible, be got on their backs. Should they attempt to seize the
swimmer, he must cast them loose immediately; and, if seized, drop them
to the bottom, when they will endeavour to rise to the surface.
Two swimmers treading water may assist a drowning person by seizing
him, one under each arm, and carrying him along with his head above
water, and his body and limbs stretched out and motionless.