Deep Water (William Douglas)

The “misadventure” is the time when a big bruiser of a boy picked Douglas up and threw him into the deep end of the Y.M.C.A. pool. He sank to the bottom, struggled for breath, panicked, and nearly drowned.

When Douglas was thrown into the pool, he first felt frightened, but not yet completely out of his wits. As he sank, he became panicky and suffocated. He tried to plan his escape: when his feet touched the bottom, he would jump up, bob to the surface like a cork, lie flat on the water, and paddle to the edge. But as he kept going down and up again, the fear became sheer, stark terror. He became paralysed, shrieking under water, unable to move his arms or legs, and finally lost consciousness.

The experience affected him deeply. He developed a haunting fear of water and never went back to the pool. The terror stayed with him for years, returning whenever he went near water. It ruined his enjoyment of fishing, canoeing, boating, and swimming, and even the slightest exertion could make him feel weak and sick.

Douglas was determined to overcome his fear because it had handicapped him for years and taken away the joy of many activities. He wanted to enjoy canoeing, boating, swimming, and fishing without terror. More importantly, after experiencing stark fear, he wanted to become free from it and live without being controlled by fear.

The instructor built a swimmer out of Douglas piece by piece. First, he made Douglas practice in the pool with a belt and pulley rope for support, so he could get used to the water. Then he taught him to put his face under water and exhale, and to raise his nose and inhale. After that, he made Douglas kick with his legs until they relaxed and responded properly. Finally, he joined these skills together and taught him to swim the crawl stroke across the pool.

Douglas made sure he had conquered the old terror by testing himself repeatedly. He swam alone in the pool until the fear lessened. Then he swam two miles across Lake Wentworth, and when the old terror returned in the middle of the lake, he laughed at it and went on. Still not fully satisfied, he later dived into Warm Lake and swam across and back. Only then did he feel that he had truly conquered his fear.

Douglas makes the panic vivid through sensory details, repetition, and short, forceful statements. He describes the water as “dirty yellow” and later “dark water” that he cannot see through. He shows the body’s helplessness: his lungs ache, his head throbs, his legs hang like dead weights, and his arms will not move. The repeated downward movement — “down, down, endlessly” — creates a feeling of helpless sinking. He also uses strong expressions like “sheer, stark terror”, “paralysed”, and “I was shrieking under water” to show complete fear. These details make the scene immediate and intense.

Douglas overcame his fear through systematic training and persistent practice. An instructor used a rope and belt to support him in the pool, helping him get used to water. Douglas practised five days a week, learned to exhale and inhale properly in water, and then learned to kick correctly. After that, he swam alone again and again until the fear weakened. To make sure the fear was gone, he later challenged himself in Lake Wentworth and Warm Lake, and finally felt free from the terror of water.