The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-07-28
DEATH OF A FLYTvG NAN

@A LII VI a FLYING MAN.
THE FLYING MAN" AND HIS bAcHrNE-A
SUCCESSFUL AND AN UNSUCCESSFUL TT rcFzr
LAST FATAL EXPERIMENT..
The London Daily Telegraph of the 10th
INST contains the account OF the last sscen-
SION OF the NJ. de Groof: 1t was announced
yesterday that at7:30 p. n NJ de Groof. the
Flying Man." would repeat at the Gre
inoIhe Gardens "his astounding PERFORM
enc . Vi lying through the air distance of
I'VE thousand feet." True TO this announce-
hent. the Flying Man" did endeavor to
repeat the exploit which he had ACCOM-
pilshed IN safety ten days before, and per-
ished In the attempt. NJ. de Groof was a
Belgian, who bad expended years in con-
structing for himselfan apparatus with which
be believed il possible to initiate the flight
oil bird The general outline of this appa-
ratus was in imitation Of bats wines, the
framework being made of cane, and the in
tervenlng membrane of stout waterproof
SILK. The wings were In all thirty-seven
Zoe. iobg, with an average breadth of four
leet, while the tail was eighteen feet by
three. These wings were inserted into two
nlnged frames that were attached TO a
wooden stand upon which the eronsut
TOOK his place. Here he had three leayers.
which ne worked by hand to give his ma
cnine propulsion or guidance as might be
required, his theory being that having
started roma given hight he could man
age MS descent so as TO reach the earth by q
sort OF inclined swooping motion. without
RISK or concussion. About a year ago NJ.
de Groof made an attempt, of which our
correspondent at the time telecraphed
the particulars, to descend from q
great hight on the Grande Place at Brussels
Inc edort was failure, but pHomme Vo-
liant, as ne was then called, escaped unhurt,
though MS network was afterward torn in
pieces by the crowd. On Monuav, the 10Th
ult., however, NJ. de Groof repeated his ex-
pertinent at Cremorne Gardens with success.
Mr.. Baum, the proprietor of the gardens
had, 1t seems, after making an engagement
with him, felt some uneasiness as 60 the re-
suit, and at first reused to allow the trial to
ce made. The Flying Man" protested the
absolute feasibility of his scheme, and in
sisted on the contract being carried out; and
this was done. The wings and stand we're
attached to a balloon guided by Mr. Sim
mons, who, after drifting over London to-
ward Brandon. in Essex released his COM
panion at a considerable height-three or
Tour hundred feet, it is said-and
THE FLYING APPARATUS
was immediately set in motion. sFor a
time" II is stated, sit was race between the
;eronaut and the flyer, De Groof winning by
two fields lengths, and attaining ground in
perfect safety" How the accident occurred
last night can not be clearly ascertained. The
apparatus, previous TO the ascent, seemed in
satisfactory order, and De Groof-though ac-
cording to custom he took an affectionate
farewell OF his wife-appeared fully conf
dent of making successful ascent. About
7:45 O'Clock the balloon was cut
loose and rose slowly in the air, bearing with
it the flying man and his gear. There was
hardly a breath of air, a circumstances
which might have been supposed to be
favorable TO the performance of an aeronau-
tical feat of the kind. Be this AS il nav.
however when the balloon had attained a
height ofthree or four hundred feet the I'M
fortunate performer seemed either to mis-
trust his own powers or the capability OF his
apparatus. for ne was heard by the specta-
Tors below shouting to the man in the bal
loon to bring him nearer the earth. This re-
quest was complied with, and the balloon
descended slowly toward Robert street,
which lies quarter of a mile or so TO the
north OF Cremorne Gardens. On approach
ing st. Luke's Church, Mr.. Simmons, the
balloonist, was heard TO say: "You must cut
loose now or you'll come on the church
roof" The answer was: " Yes, let me
drop into the churchyard," and these were,
uttered. BE cut the rope when
about eighty feet from the ground, but, to
the horror OF the spectators, who must have
numbered many thousands, the apparatus,
instead ofinflating with the pressure OF the
air, collapsed, and, turning round and
round in Its decent. fell with great violence
in Robert street, yard or two from the
cTrbstOne. Assistance to the unfortunate
man was INSTANTLY forthcoming. Although
still breathing, he was insensiple; but the
dispatch with which he was extricated from
the wreck of his apparatus and conveyed to
Chelsea 1nfirmary proved in vain. He
never recovered consciousness, snd on his
arrival at the hospital the surgeon pro-
nOunced him dead. Madame De Groof, who
witnessed her husbands tall, tainted at the
-sfrHf o,1I Cfs11 f.,l L.
place short time later at the hospital, when
she learned the whole sad truth. The APP
paratus was carried off in shreds by the
crowd before the police could secure it.
MURDER IN NEWTON COUNTY.