From the Code of Hammurabi, Babylonia, 2250 BC

"If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the
river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall
take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is
not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation
shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take
possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser."

If we paddlers could go back in a time machine, we could really clean up
in terms of property ownership! Especially with Coast Guard approved PFD.