1.The Pacific Islanders are the most expert of allnations in swimming and in aquaticgames.In all thetropical groups nearly the entire population lives upon the seashore.The climate is warm；the people have little to do；and on windy days，when the billows roll in heavily from the ocean，whole villages sometimes spendan afternoon in the daring pastimeof surf-playing.
2.The Hawaiian practises this sport upon a surf-board，which he calls a “wave-sliding board.”It ismade of firm，light wood；it is equal in length to the swimmer’s height，about a foot wide，slightly oval in outline，and often convex on both sides.It is polished and stained black，and it is preserved with great care.
3.The natives choose a spot where immense billows，driven in by the trade-winds，break furiously upon thecoast.Each person，taking his swimming-board under him，plunges into the surf，and strikes out for the deep water half a mile or more from the shore.Arrived at last at the outside of the reef，where the waves first begin to break，he turns，extends himself at full length upon his board，faces the shore，and throws quick glances behind him，watching for a larger wave thanusual to ride upon.
4.Three or four waves pass，but he laughs at them，though the smallest of them would have dashed over a foreign swimmer and drowned him.At last he sees a mighty billow approaching him.It is the very king of waves.It comes with its crest high in the air，its liquid edge already trembling and snapping in the sunlight，and it utters a hollow roar as it sweeps down upon the swimmer.It draws him backward for an instant toward it，as if to swallow him；then snatching him up in itscourse，it hurls him with inconceivablespeed towardthe shore.He lies upon his board on the front surface of the wave；his head is down，his heels slant upward into the flashing foam which half envelops him.A score of his companions are dashing madly onward with him：they shout more loudly than the roaring of the wave.
5.You look to see the swimmer dashed against the shore.He is going with the speed of a racer-there seems no escape for him-when suddenly he disappears from sight.By a backward movement of the hands he retreats into the heart，of the wave，sinking away from its front surface.Soon he reappears on the seaward sideof the breaker that now shatters itself upon the lava-rock.His head is already turned from the shore，and he is again making his way into deep water to mount another billow.
6.The children have a number of games at which they play，in and under the water，as fearlessly as school children gambol in the playground.One is a kind of “tig，”in which the object of the side that is “in”is to reach two or three successive stations by swimming and diving，so as to escape being touched by any player of the “out”party，who are the pursuers.
7.Leaping from high，perpendicular cliffs is a favourite and daring sport with the men.They choose a place where the water is not less than fifteen or twenty feet in depth at the foot of the cliff；then，taking a rousing run to get fairly under way，they bound far into the air from the edge of the cliff.
8.As the diver falls from the dizzy height-some-times a hundred feet-toward the water，he bends himself almost double；but just before striking the water，he partially straightens himself，so that his whole body is slightly curved forward at the moment of the plunge，and the feet are a little in advance of a perpendicular line from the head.He strikes the water without a splash，entering it with that quick，dull “chuck”that a smooth pebble makes when thrownforcibly into water，and at an angle so nicely calculated that he is actually brought to the surface again by themomentumof the fall.He shoots through the arc ofa circle under the water，and after two or three seconds comes up，feet foremost.The first thing you see of him is his toes，emerging from the water fifteen or twenty feet in front of the place where he went under.No athletic feat is more daring and beautiful than this.
