Page:Scouting for girls, adapted from Girl guiding.djvu/184

170 way in helping a drowning man is to keep behind and hold him up by the elbows, or by the back of the neck, or by putting your arms under his armpits and your hands across his chest, and telling him to keep quiet and not to struggle. If he obeys, you can easily keep him afloat; but otherwise be careful that in his terror he does not turn over and catch hold of you. If he should seize you by the neck, Holbein says, "Scrag him, and scrag him quickly. Place your arm round his waist, and the other hand, palm upwards, under his chin, with your fingertips under his nose. Pull and push with all your might, and he must perforce let go." But you will never remember this unless you practise it frequently with other people first, each taking it in turns to be the drowning man or rescuer.

[Practice this.]

If you see a person fall into the water and begin to drown, and you yourself are unable to swim, you must throw a rope, or an oar, or plank right over him, so that when he comes up again he may clutch at it and hold it.

Drowning.—To restore any one who is apparently drowned, it is necessary at once to clear the water out of his lungs, for which purpose, therefore, you should incline him face downwards and head downwards, so that the water may run out of his mouth, and to help it you should open his mouth and pull forward his tongue. After running the water out of the patient, place him on his side with his body slightly hanging down, and keep the tongue hanging out. If he is breathing, let him rest; if