CAPTAIN BOYTON ATTACKED BY A DOG-FISH IN THE STRAITS OF MESSINA.
“Disregarding the counsels of those who warned him of the perils of such a rough sea, and one so infested with dog-fish, Boyton let himself into the water at eight in the morning, followed by a vessel, which more than once lost sight of him. He rowed in his apparatus with the aid of arms which appeared as though made of steel, when he suddenly felt himself strongly knocked against behind. It was a dog-fish! There was a flash; Boyton raised himself to the middle, drew the dagger which he always carried at his side, and repelled the assailant. Reassured, he then re-took the oar, drank for the third or fourth time some cognac, and about midday, with his eyes inflamed by the heavy strokes of the sea, arrived at the port of Messina, saluted with enthusiasm by the crowd of people, on shore and in boats and steamers, who were anxiously awaiting him.”
Apparently one of the simplest devices for those unable to swim is that known as the Nautilus Safety Bathing Dress, the invention of Captain Peacock. It is simply a short shirt, made of the purest Irish flax, which fits closely round the neck and waist, &c., by means of elastic bands. It has an inflating tube and mouthpiece. The principle on which it is founded is simply this: Irish flax, when wet, is nearly air and water proof; dipping, then, first the shirt in water, air is blown inside by the tube till there is sufficient inflation. Should there be any slight leakage, more air can at any moment be blown into it by the wearer. These shirts are, of course, comparatively inexpensive.
A seaman’s belt, invented by Captain Ward, R.N., and sanctioned by the National Life-Boat Institution, is highly commended by many authorities. A schoolmaster says that he has been accustomed for many years to take from thirty to forty boys, of all ages, during the bathing season, into deep water, and that not merely is it perfectly safe, and free from some objections urged against many swimming-belts, but that its use enables young people to swim more rapidly.
Captain Warren has invented a life-buoy which is highly commended. It consists of a bladder chemically prepared, to which is affixed a patent valve, by means of which the former can be easily inflated. A second invention of Captain Warren’s consists of 500 life-buoys, three feet long, made of cork or specially prepared wood, and strung on to a series of iron rods, which are connected with the turret or mast of the ship. These are all kept together by means of a band, which, when the vessel is sinking, would be cut, and the whole of the buoys could be instantly released. This apparatus would cost £250, but of course it could be made on a smaller scale if required.
A most ingenious “Life-Buoy Seat” has been invented by Mr. Richard Rose, an old traveller and colonist. It is composed of two semi-conical buckets of block tin, the smaller end of one screwing into the other, together forming a buoy resembling an hour-glass in shape. Placed upright it forms a capital deck camp-seat, the upper end being of cork, which of course increases its buoyancy. In the event of fire on board the two portions can be rapidly unscrewed, and each buoy thus representing two buckets, [pg 263]a ship with only two or three dozen would have an ample supply in such emergency. Practically tested in a swimming-bath, several bathers could not sink one placed there for the experiment, and it took a dead weight of nearly a hundredweight to do so. The buoy being water-tight could, of course, be utilised for carrying a supply of water, biscuit, or other food, valuable ship’s papers, and so forth, and without materially impairing its buoyancy, while several lashed together would form a raft. Two ropes are attached to each seat. When one considers the confusion and panic that too often attend collisions, fires at sea, and shipwrecks generally, this invention would prove of incalculable value, as it could be utilised on the immediate spur of the moment.
The Royal Humane Society promulgates the following golden rules for bathers (and which apply also in part to swimmers), prepared by competent authorities:—1. Avoid bathing within two hours after a meal. 2. Avoid bathing when exhausted by fatigue. 3. Avoid bathing when the body is cooling after perspiration. But—4. Bathe when the body is warm, provided no time be lost in getting into the water. 5. Avoid chilling the body by sitting naked on the banks or in boats after having been in the water. 6. Avoid remaining too long in the water—leave the water immediately there is the slightest feeling of chillness. 7. Avoid bathing altogether in the open air, if, after having been a short time in the water, there is a sense of chilliness with numbness of the hands and feet. 8. The vigorous and strong may bathe early in the morning on an empty stomach. 9. The young and those that are weak had better bathe three hours after a meal—the best time for such is from two to three hours after breakfast. 10. Those who are subject to attacks of giddiness or faintness, and those who suffer from palpitation and other sense of discomfort at the heart, should not bathe without first consulting their medical adviser.
And now we must speak of the greatest swimmer of our day—one who has never been excelled. Captain Matthew Webb swam the Channel when he was but twenty-six years of age. The son of a country surgeon, he had early become fond of the sea, and obtained his first instruction on board the Conway training ship at Liverpool.
The event in Webb’s life which first brought his name prominently before the public in connection with swimming took place on board the Cunard steamship Russia, then on the homeward voyage from America. One day a tremendous heavy sea caused the ship to roll in a manner which rendered it almost impossible for any one to keep their feet without a life-line (i.e., a rope stretched along or across the deck from one point to another), and all of a sudden a cry arose, “A man overboard!” A poor young fellow, Michael Hynes by name, who had been ordered aloft in the main rigging to “clear the sheet,” had missed his hold, and fell backwards into the water. Webb saw him fall, and within two or three seconds was after him in the sea, but, alas! could see nothing of him, save his cap floating on the waves. On this occasion he was thirty-seven minutes in the water before be was picked up by the Russia’s lifeboat, the waves being “mountains high,” and the ship going at fifteen knots. Webb was utterly unable to save the poor fellow, who was never seen to rise again, but for his noble attempt deservedly received the leading medal, the—“Stanhope gold medal”—of the Royal Humane Society of London, another from the Liverpool Humane Society, and £100 from the passengers on board the Russia.