TREADING WATER • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Treading water

... feels the hold, he covers the other's mouth with the palm of his hand, clasping the nostrils tightly between his first two fingers, at the same time pulling the drowning man to him with the left hand in the small of the back, treading water in the meantime. Then, taking a full breath, he applies his knee {284} in the other's stomach, forcing him to expel the air in his lungs and at the same time preventing him from getting more by pressure on the nostrils and mouth. Should the pressure of the grip around the body be ...

— Boy Scouts Handbook - The First Edition, 1911 • Boy Scouts of America

... men, who were both fairly young, seemed to be plucky enough. They waited quietly enough for Tom Binns to swim to them, and, by treading water, he was able to let each one of them put a hand on his shoulder, so that they could keep their own heads out of water. He couldn't swim with them, but he could, at least, keep them from sinking until help came. That could not be very ...

— The Boy Scout Fire Fighters - or Jack Danby's Bravest Deed • Robert Maitland