Wichita eagle., 1888-11-17
SIMMONS AND HIS BALLOON.

win drop in it like billet of wood. It is
just as if man walking on solid ground
should step into a deep well, and this, no
doubt, explains the sudden fall Of balloons in
cases where the globe was not broken, which
have heretofore been so mysterious. Unless
the whirl of air moves on and allows the bah
loon to strike denser stratum before get
ting near the earth, destruction is certain.
The last aeronaut killed was Simmons, Of
England, who had had thirty years experience
Ind made many notable ascensionS On the
9th Of August he went up from the Olympia
grounds, Kensington, where the great Irish
exhibition was in progress, bis immense bal
loon, the Cosmo, having 60, 900 feet OF gas as
an estimated lifting capacity Of z, 400 pounds.
With him in the car were MIR. Field and
Professor Myers, of the Natural History
museum Of South Kensington, and they had
made their calculations to strike current
which would carry them over to France. For
two hours they moved southwark, then,
sighting the sea coast resolved to anchor for
the night, as they were rapidly nearing the
earth. The anchor caught in tree just as
the balloon was whirled upward by fresh
current OF air. 1t then struck sort of air
vacuum and fell, was whirled upward again
and fell again, and repeated this for the third
time. Mr.. Simmons was killed and the other
gentlemen badly but not fatally injured.
Deceased had had some perilous adventures
before, and was twice barely rescued from
drowning in the English channel. In 1875
he assembled with Lee Groof, the celebrated
Belgian flying man" The latter attempted
to descend by parachute of his own inven-
ton; it broke, and he was killed by the fall
Mr. Simmons had made successful accents in
France, India, Egypt and the United States
A few days before his death three Belgians.
Capt Mahanden, Lieut. Croy and NJ Coulet,
assembled from Bercham, Belgium, and were
whirled out and over the North sea- De-
scending in the dark, they saw their danger,
threw out ballast and rose again; at dawn
they dropped to the water, but succeeded in
getting Off again. Perceiving a steamer,
they thought best to descend near it; all
three were thrown into the water, but were
rescued by a boat from the steamer when
almost exhausted. Relieved Of their weight,
the balloon again rose, and when last seen
was lowering over the Scotch coast
1t was on the 18th of September, 1854, that
the first notable success was achieved, as on !
that day balloon seventy-two feet high and |
forty-one feet in diameter ian OVAL, con-
structed by Stephen Montgolfer, assembled be-
fore commission in France; but no one went /
up with it. On the nineteenth of tie same
month another of the same size was sent up
before Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and tho |
whole court at Versailles, carrying a sheep,
a rooster and duck, all Of which descended
safely. Soon after the Montgolfers made
their first ascension, and in few years aero
nautics were about as perfect as they are to- /
day. except that the general use of gas has
made initiation easier. Every year we read
or hear that some one has invented flying
machine which positively will go" but that
is all we ever hear Of it. Even during the
siege of Paris it was found that though man
could get out Of the city easily enough he
had to go where the air took him, and for
mail transportation the balloon was far infe-
rior to the carrier pigeon, which knew where
it wanted to go and went there.