Tombstone epitaph., 1890-02-22
EATEN BY SHARKS.
The Fearful Fate of Aeronaut Van Tass
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 Aeronaut Van Tassel, who is well known all over the United States as a daring adventureT among the clouds, met a fearful death at Honolulu not long ago by falling into the water from his balloon, where he was eaten by sharks. The occasion of his last ascension was the Kings birthday. There was grand celebration, and the festivities were to conclude with parachute leap. Shortly before three o'clock Van Tassel entered his balloon alone after all the necessary preparations had been made The con- ditions were favorable for his landing on land, and when the balloon shot upward it was thought h. would not land more than half mile from the starting point. The balloon asccnded steadily to the height of one thousand feet, when it was caught by 9 a.0,teae blowing seaward and carried oVls the water.
 The aeronaut evidently saw he must inevitably fall into the water, and those who were watching him with glasses saw that he was burriedly making prep arations for a descent. Suddenly the parachute was let loose, and the bag of gas shot up higher into the air. The parachute opened nicely, and the man gracefully descended into the water about two miles off shore.
 That was the last seen of him. The steamer Zealandia, which brought the news, was at the time entering the har- bor. Two boats were immediately low cred, and the men were soon at the spot where the man was last seen. They could find no traee of him. The para chute had sunk, owing to the weight of it's iron, and three or four monster sharks were seen swimming near by. They followed the boats back to the steamer.
 Though the search was continued afterward for several hours no trace was found. Van Tassel was daring swim mer, and under ordinary circumstances could not have drowned before the boats reached him. The hunt for his body has been continued every day since the ac- cident, but without avail. The men who were in the boats say Van Tassel must have been seized by the sharks al- most immediately after he struck the water for not more than eight minutes elapsed from the time the boats were lowered until the spot was reached where the daring man died.
 News of his death was not long in reaching shore, and immediately thou sands who had seen him go up went to the beach and wharves, and small boats without number were rowed eastward. The first diligent search was not ended until dark, and there is no hope what ever of recovering the body now.
 Van Tassel was well known in San Francisco and throughout America. There are few large cities in the Unit ed States ill which he has not made as- tensions, and few understand the busi- Eess so well as ae..s,s ne had been up hundreds of times, He made many as- tensions from Woodward's Garden, Gen. tral Park and the Ocean beach, and he successfully performed parachute jumps in this city at the beach few months ago. OnOne occasion before the leap near ly cost him his life, the parachute not opening and descending with lightning rapidity for many hundred feet before spreading.
 He was about forty years of age, and left wife, but no children.-Cor. N. Y. Sun.