When seized with cramp

Perhaps more swimmers have been drowned by cramp than by anything else, and only those who have suffered from it can conceive its fatal power. Even good swimmers, when seized with cramp, have been known to sink instantly, overcome with the sudden pain, and nothing can save the victim but the greatest presence of mind.

The usual spot where the cramp is felt is the calf of the leg; and it sometimes comes with such violence that the muscles are gathered up into knots. There is only one method of proceeding under such circumstances: to turn on one’s back at once, kick the leg out in the air, disregarding the pain, and rub the spot smartly with one hand, while the other is employed in paddling towards shore.

These directions are easy enough to give, but quite difficult to obey; cramp seems to deprive the sufferer of all reason for the time, and it seems to overpower him with mingled pain and terror. Therefore, the method of saving a person drowning because of cramp demands great practice. The chief difficulty lies in the fact that a person who cannot swim feels, in deep water, much as if he were falling through air, and consequently clutches instinctively at the nearest object. If he succeeds in grasping the person who is trying to save him, both will probably sink together. Every precaution should be taken to prevent such a misfortune and the drowning man should always be seized from behind and pushed forwards.