William O. Douglas had developed an aversion to water when he was just a boy of three or four. His father took him to the beach in California. He and his father stood together in the surf. He was knocked down by the waves. He was buried in water. His breath had gone. There was terror in his heart at the overpowering force of the waves. He was frightened and developed a permanent fear for water. This fear revived when he was at the Y.M.C.A swimming pool. A big boy of eighteen tossed him into the deep end of the pool. He soon reached the bottom of the nine feet deep pool. But those nine feet were more like ninety. He was nearly drowned. His hands and legs were paralysed and rigid. His lungs ached and head pounded. When he came to senses, he found himself lying beside the pool, vomiting. William O. Douglas decided to get an instructor and learn how to swim. He went to a pool and practised five days a week. The instructor made him a perfect swimmer. He was not sure that all his terror had left. So he went to Lake Wentworth and dived off a dock. He had conquered his fear of water.