Weekly Trinity journal., 1874-08-15
NUMBER 80.
4 HORRIBLE DEATH.

Custaye De Grooi was a Belgian who
had spent many years and all the money
he could obtain in attempts to perfect
flying machine which he had invented.
a year ago he announced that his ma
chine was at last perfect, and that he
would make the ascent from Brussels on
a certain day. y great crowd assembled
to see the performance but the machine
would not work, The ascent was not at
tempted, and the crowd, enraged at the
disappointment, threw themselves upon
the machine and broke it. De Groof
then camo to London and built another
machine, 1t was quito simple. 1t con-
sisted ofa wooden platform about three
feet long and two feet wide, on which the
flyer YVES to stand two wings, thrty-Gvo
feet long and three feet wide, composed
OF cane and canvas, and tail piece of
the same materials. Tho whole ma
chino weighed throo hundred pounds.
Standing on the platform De Groof could
dap the wings and move tho tail, and
thus, although he could not ascend, he
could, in his belief, fly horizontally thro-
the air tor somo distanceaud come safely
to the ground when he grew tired Of fly
ing. He made an arrangement with a
balloonist, Mr. Simmons, to be taken up
from Cromorno Gardens, and to be al
lowed to cut himself loose from the bal
loon. Tho first ascent was made last
week. De Groor attached his machine
to the balloon it ascended and was car
lied for several miles. When at an ell
ovation of about /, 400 feet, De Groof cut
the ropo and set his wings in motion.
The machine descended in an incline po-
sition, and safely reached the ground
after trayersing the distance of about a
quarter Of mile. There was strong
breeze blowing at the time, and the ma
chino seemed % be carried with the wind.
On Thursday De Groof made his second
attempt, and this ended in his death.
Mr.. Simmons again took him up, and
the ascent was mudo from the Crcmorne
Gardens as before, in the presence of an
immonso ossomblage. Tho poor fellows
wife was present he took II long and af-
tectionato farewell of hor, and then step
ped into his fatal machine, which he had
previously himself attached to the bal
loon. Tho balloon ascondod very rapidly
to the height Of 1000 feet. Simmons
then modo it descend from time to time
De Groor called out to him the various
altitude, which he road from nm indica-
or which he had with him. They were
now oyer Chelsea, near st. I4uko's church
and Mt nm altitude Of 500 feet. De Groof
now 4ocn1s to havo determined to make
his experiment, although what he did
cannot be- positively known. Simmons
felt n sudden Fhock-tho balloon sprang
upwards, and Simmons, looking down,
saw De Groof and his machine falling
hoodlong TO the ground. The machine
seemed to have capsizod. Simmons
thinks TINT De Groof, reaching for the
rope to unlic it, oyorbaanced himself
and overturned his machine. lie fell
with a tcrriblo thud upon the stones of
Roberts street. His skull was fractured,
his arms broken, and his ribs smashed in.
He was picked up dead. A mob Of boys
and men tore his machine to fragments
and ran of with the pieces. His wife
who had been watching her husband
from Cromorno Gardens, saw him fall,
and, giving piercing shrek Of agony,
tainted away. Meanwhile the balloon
with Simmons, thus suddenly relieved of
weight Of $50 pounds, flew upwards
and attained an elevation Of $1,000 feet.
Simmons became insensiblc. When he
recovered he found himself sailing over
Victoria Park, and soon afterwards de-
seconded upon railway track just in
front Of an advancing train. lIo would
/ have boon run down had not some work.
/ men seized upon the car and dragged it
to one side just rs the train passcd.-LoH'
dom dipafch, Jaiy I'm,