Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1873-07-18
The Tragic Death of the Aeronaut
La Mountain.

THE balloon was one of the hot-air
kind, intended to rise by the wellknown
upward pressure of the heated air con-
fined, until, cooling in the upper rarified
atmosphere, it gradually descends. 1t is
thought by some that the renowned La
Mountain would not, after all his great
experience, have been likely to use this
inferior means of ascension. But as there
is no gas at Ionia it was impracticable
for him or any one to use any other
means than hot air-balloon. At fifteen
minutes before four the sack was sup
posed to be properly inflated, and at that
moment the tether was cut and up it flew
from the assembled multitude.
The sack of this fatal air vessel was
about one-third or one-fourth larger than
the one of the same kind which recently
made two aseensions in this city. 1t
probably held about $4,000 feet of air.
The form was, as usual, oval, except
where it closes to point underneath.
The swell of the oval was capped by a
wooden hub, supposed to be firmly fixed
there, and. perforated by three holes,
through which ran the suspension cords
of the basket, crossing each other and
coming down around and beneath the
sack, forming six ends. To these the bas-
ket containing the aeronaut, was sus-
pended. There was no netting, such as
always covers and incloses the sack OF
the large-sized gas balloons, or the accl-
dent resulting thus horribly could not,
probably, have occurred. There was but
little wind at the time, and the balloon
arose directly upward, remaining right
over the Courthouse square, whence 1t
started, appearing of course to diminish
in size, till it was judged, by that appear
ance and the rate of its upward move
ment, to be 5000 feet high. The shouts
had ceased, and 10000 upturned faces
watched the diminishing object intently
when the basket was seen to separate
from the sack, which hung and wavered
about in one spot for half moment or
so, while the basket and man were shoot
ing downward with the velocity OF
cannon shot!
AS the vast throng of witnesses compre-
hended the frightful tragic spectacle,
thrill of intense horror spread through
them, as from among them issued one
widespread suppressed groan of agony,
for all seemed too hoTor-stricken to
shrek. Of course there was no such
length of time in the downward flying OF
the devoted man as the reader has Occu-
pl6Q Ill TGdQlUS GuGS6 1doI lCW 1LhOo ~
scribing it. From the instant Of the dis
aster to the balloon till he struck the
ground, the time was not probably more
than fifteen seconds, as measured OIL on
the watch-dial by the secondhand. At a
height of five or six hundred feet from
the earth the unfortunate man got separ-
ated from the basket-in fact it appeared
as if he leaped from it Intentionally. This
certainly made no difference as to the IA
tality of the fall. The conclusion must
have killed him just as quickly had he
struck the earth with the basket beneath
him. Wonderful as it may seem, from the
time he sprang from the basket his posi-
ton in the air remained erect, feet down,
till he struck, Notwithstanding the greater
weight of the head md body, which causes
most human bodies to turn and fall head
first. 1t is possible he had acquired fac
ulty of controlling his position in the air
by athletic force. Perhaps, in the hurried
thoughts of despair, he fancied he might,
by striking feet down, be spared from
death. But the indescribable swiftness of
his descent must have knocked the breath
out of him, even had he struck on new,
ly-made hay-stack. Many people declared
that they saw such movements OF his