Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1874-08-06
DEATH OF TIE FLYING MAN.

7.3O p. III. de Groof, the tsFlying Man,
would repeat, at the Cremorne Gar
dens, CHS astounding performance Of
flying through the air, distance of
5000 feet" True to this announce
ment, the "Flying Man did, endeavor
to repeat the exploit which he had ac>
eomplished in safety ten days before,
and persisted in the attempt. NJ. Gle
'Groof was Belgian, who had ex~
pended years in constructing for him
self an apparatus with which he be.
lieved it possible to initiate the fight
of a bird. The general outline of this
apparatus was in imitation of bat's
wings, the framework being made of
cane, and the intervening membrane of
stout waterproof silk. The wings were
in all 81 feet long, with an average
breadth Of four feet, while the tail was
Is feet by 8. These wings were in~
serted into two hinged frames that
were attached to Wooden stand upon
which the aeronaut took his place.
Here he had three levers, which he
worked by hand to give his machine
propulsion or guidance as might be
required his theory being that having
started from given height he could
manage his descent so as to reach the
earth by a sort of inclined swooping
motion, without risk Of conclusion.
About year ago Nj. de Groof made
an attempt, of which our corresponds
ent at the time telegraphed the par
ticulars, to descend from a great height
on the Grand Place at Brussels. The
effort was failure, but Thomnae 70
zant, as he was then called, escaped un-
hart, though his network was afterward
torn in pieces by the crowd. On Mon
day, the 29th ultimo, however, NJ. de
Groof repeated his experiment at Gre
morne Gardens with success. MIR
Baum, the proprietor Of the gardens,
had, it seems, after making an engage
ment with him, felt some uneasiness as
to result, and at first refused to allow
the trial 10 be made. The s'Flying
Man protested the absolute feasibility
of his scheme, and insisted Oh the con-
tract being carried out, and this was
done. The wings and stand were at
tached to a balloon guided by Mr. Sim
mons, who, after drifting over London
toward Brandon, in Essex, released his
companion at a considerable height
Ghree OF four hundred feet, it is said)
and the flying apparatus was imme-
diately set in motion. "For time" it
is said, ST was a race between the
aeronaut and the flyer, de Groof win
ming by two fields lengths, and attain
ing ground in perfect safety"
How the accident occurred last MIC bit
cannot clearly be ascertained The APP
paratus, previous to the ascent, seemed,
in satisfactory order, and de Groof-
though, according to custom, he took
an affectionate farewell Of his wife
appeared fully confident of making a
successful ascent About 7.45 o'clock
the balloon was cut loose, and rose
slowly In the air, bearing with it the
'Flyirg Man" and his gear. There
/ was hardly a breath If air, circum.
stance which might have been sup
posed to be favorable to the. perfe rm
ance of an aeronautical feat of the
kind. Be this as it may, however,
when the balloon had attained height
OF three or four hundred feet the un
fortunate perforlaeF seemed either to
mistrust his own powers or. the capa.
bility of his apparatus, for he was
heard by the spectators below shouting
to the man in the balloon to bring hin,
nearer the earth. This request was
complied with, and the balloon des>
cended slowly toward Robert street,
which lies quarter of a mile or SO to
north of Cremorne Gardens. On ap
preaching st. Luke's Church Mr. Sim
mons, the balloonist, was heard to say !:
"Yoa must cut loose now or you'll
come on the church roof" The an
swer was Eyes; let me drop into the
church yard, and these were, no doubt.
the last words de Groot uttered. He
Cut the rope when about eighty feet
from the ground, but, to the horror of
he spectators, who must have mum
bered many thousands, the apparatus
instead Of initiating with the pressure of
the air, collapsed, and, turning round
and round in Its descent, fell with great
violence in Robert street, a yard or
two from the curbstone. Assistance to
the unfortunate man was instantly
forthcoming. Although still breathing,
he was insensible but the dispatch with
which he was extricated from the
wreck Of his apparatus aud conveyed
to Chelsea Infirmary proved IN vain.
lie never recovered consciousness.
and on his arrival at the hospital the
surgeon pronounced him dead. Mad-
anne de Groot, who witnessed her bus,
bands fall, faiated at the sight, and