No doubt some of my readers will smile at the statement that a man in a boat on smooth water can pull himself across with the tiller rope! 

But it is a fact. 

If he had fastened the end of his rope to the stern of the boat and then, while standing in the bows, had given a series of violent jerks, the boat would have been propelled forward. 

This has often been put to a practical test, and it is said that a speed of two or three miles an hour may be attained.