Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-07-11

and capable OF bearing lour OF nNe uuuuicu
weight The kite complete weighed ninety
six pounds. The tail was made Of a SIN
teen-foot rope weighted with lead. Instead
of the usual flying cord 200 yards OF closely
wound MANILA rope, very light, but as
strong rs a double-link chain, were procur-
ed, and on Thursday afternoon Of last week
the kite was pronounced complete ana
ready for voyage in the air.
! Sam Watherbee was the man who Origi-
mated the idea, and when everything was
finished Sam called up the crowd to liquor
at Bragg's bar. The party consisted OF
Watherbee, Amos Evers, Bill Oaks, or
Blind Bill Oaks, rs he is better known;
Ed Walton, and Spence Maynard. They
drank pretty freely for more than an hour,
and it was then proposed that a trial
should be made of the kite, to test its
powers before the great fly came OIL the
next morning The wind was blowing
pretty fresh from Smiths Gorge, and after
one or two unsuccessful efforts, the huge
frame caught the wind rs three men ran
with rope down steep incline toward
| Laurel Fork. One of them carried the coil
of rope over his shoulder, while the other
| two paid out the line. As the huge kite
| rose in the air it required the utmost
strength of all three tn hold it, and finding
this difficult task, they took a half turn
around tree stump, and in that way
gradually gave the kite more rope, until 1t
was seventy-five yards in the air.
just then Evers come out of Bragg's bar
room. lie was very drunk, but walked
fairly straight line. There's drink
waitin' fur youse fellers," said he, with
hiccough. Better git in thar and git it,
AMI" Then, suddenly espying the
kite and the cord wrapped around the
stump-"Why, you've got her up, haint
yer? Jcs' gimme the end o. that rope. I'll
hold her while you licke:."
Nothing loath, the three men assented,
and after giving the rope another turn gave
up the slack end to Evers and went into
the bar. No sooner had they gone than
Evers took one turn off the stump, and the
rope began to run through and burn his
hands. He braced himself against big
stone and managed to get loop over the
stump again in such n manner rs TO form
what sailors would call couple of half
bitches. This stopped any more rope from
running ont. But Evers believed he could
do better than that Taking up the slack,
he wrapped il around and around his body
under the armpits, and made it fast in
front of his chest in three or four tight flat
knots.
KEN out yere, SAM" he cried. Ken
out yere, till larn We how to fly kite"
This is what the party heard in the bar
room, and they loungcd toward the door
with laugh. Ashley reached the treashold
the laugh turned to a cry Of amazement
and horror. They saw Amos Evers stOop
and push the rope off the stump altogether.
In another instant they saw him whisked
up into the air as though he had been
feather instead of man weighing lao
pounds. He was just about heavy enough
to make the kite maintain its equilibrium.
As he was jerked upward he gave vent to
an unearthly yell Then his companions
family heard him cry, Help! Help! Fur
the Lords sake boys" but they heard no
more, for the unfortunate man was then
nearly thousand feet above their heads
They saw him kick and struggle and grasp
the rope in front of him. Higher and higher
he was borne, and fainter and fainter be-
came his shTieks. In less than five minutes
he was mere struggling speck outlined
against the blue sky. The kite was still
visible, and was rising steadily. II must
have been going at terrific rate of speed
for poor Eyers was stringing out behind
like pennant from ships mast I'm
few minutes more the outlines of his form
could no longer be seen, and at the ex-
piratiOn of fifteen minutes from the time
the kite was let loose he had passed out OF
sight, going in an easterly direction to-
ward Rich Mountain, spur of the Allie
ghanies.
On the following morning party started
out in the direction the kite had taken.
They returned at nightfull without any
tiding5 of the man who had been 80 stragcly
snatceed away. Two days passed, and
nothing was heard OF Evers. Three days,
four, five, six days, week, and still
nothing 1t was then generally conceded
that the man had been lost, and c0nsola-
ton was offered TO the widow in the shape
of small key Of whisky, new "slcd
wagon, and mule. But yesterday NOR
ming Amos Evers turned up IA large as life
Two gentlemen accompanied him into the
place. He sat down on cracker barrel in
the grocery, and told his story in a few
words, and without any effort at self-gIori-
ication.
after got jerked offmy feet, " he said,
II didn't know where / was for a minute,
but when that rope began to tighten it
knocked all the rum out O. my head. /
guess L hOllered some. Seems TO me was
mile high afore tried to do anything.
First thought I'd cut the rope, but find
ing was lible to drop too fur concluded
TO hang on and see ef couldn't ketch a
tree top; but wuz heap too high fur that.
AFTER while began 10 lose my breath
like, an then concluded somethin' had
to be done, 80 began climbin' that rope
with the idea of Dustin hole in the kite.
Must taken me five or six hours to climb
twenty yards, cos il was pitch dark, when
| feels the kite wobblin' as though it had
lost the hobs WIZ afraid TO 90 any
higher fur fear she would drop too suddinf,
so slides back little way, and then she
stidy agin. Finally ! says to myself. Bet
ter die quick and be done with il, and
starts to climb agin. The old kite w0b-
bled fearful felt that / wuz a goin'
down amazin' fast / felt myself swish
through big buttonwood, but couldn't
glt no hand hold, so i KEEP ON elimbin'.
The nearer1 got to the kite the more she
wobbled, and the more she wobbled the
further down she came After while she
turns ker dummix, and lands all i'm a
heap alongside of little run, in a place
whar I'd never been before. I wuz kind
o. foolish, guess, fur didn't wax up till
daylight, and didn't know what wuz
wrong. meets lot Of people, and these
two gentlemen take me up TO their houses
and keep me for three OF four days till I
get right again, and, after gifts on my feet,
/ have to stay couple days more with
some other gentlemen. Give rs some
lickerr'
The place where Eyers landed after his
wonderful fligt through the ar WIS Mil
Brooke, Hampshire county, about serenity
miles as the crow flies from Alpe6a, Tie
gentlemen who frst discovered him ussp]
.