Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-12-17
IN PERIL IN tbs AIR.
What an Ae~onaut Thought During a
Half Minutes Fall.

There is some kind of a fatality
pursuing me in Detroit" remarked
Prof Bartholomew to reporter Of the
Free Press recently. First. Cole. was
hurt, by his own folly, however, in
monkeying on his parachute when he
was coming down; then Hogan was
killed; Miss Carmo drops within ten
feet of an unfathomable abyss of mud
in sulphur marsh. and to-day l have
met a man who witnessed the most
narrow escape from death | ever had.
The incident referred 10 occurred
two years ago at Terre Haute Ind. l
shall never forget my experience on
that day. A number of outsiders held
the ropes of the balloon while it was
being inflated. and one of the men
amused himself by tying big knot in
his guy. | did not realize the danger
from that knot until it came near be-
inc the cause of nv death. NV as
cent was unusually high on that dav,
and it was the means of saving my life.
Il straadIed the bar of my parachute
and launched myself off. ! felt the
cord which held the parachute to the
balloon snap, and second later there
was another tug from above. | look
ed up and there was that knot on the
GUY swung around SIX Of tie parachute
cords, forming as neat a half hitch as
YOU ever saw in your life and holding
me 10 the balloon. You have noticed
that there is weight attached 10 the
top of the balloon watch turns the bag
upside down as it Is released Of the
weight of the aerOnaut. The guy rope
which was half hiiched around the
strings of my parachute was also
fastened to the top Of the balloon. and
the latter turned up and began dis
charging the hot air instantly as |
jumped. The air escaped as you see
it every day here gradually. and of
course my parachute descended very
gradually at first, and not initiating.
Down | kept coming. the guy rope
preventing the parachute from infat-
ing, and | gave myself up as lost; |
wound my legs around the ropes of the
parachute trapeze and shut my teeth.
The speed commenced to be fearfully
accelerated. and | was sure that | had
to die, but ] was cool and retained my
senses.
Soon the balloon had empted itself
aud commenced Tapping its huge tail
in the air with awful swishes. The
balloon weighed over 200 pounds and
was also pulled down by the sixty
pound sand bag. 1t came down past
me, and as the knotted guy rope Slip
ped down the lines the parachute open
ed with such fierce snap that it SEEM
ed as if the ropes which supported NE
would give away. The spreading of
the parachute saved my life, for the
2O0-pound balloon kept on down and
broke the six cords held captive by the
guy rope as if they had been pack
threads. 1t takes long time to tell
The story, but it all happened in half
a minute. | was within 400 feet of the
ground when the balloon tore away.
but my fall was checked and | landed
all right.
Every body thought was a goner
that day, and more excited crowd
than had gathered around where | was
to have fallen you never saw. There
is no mistake about my being scared
that day, but l folded my parachute and
balloon as coolly as if nothing had
happened and went to bed for the re-
mainder of the week. "-Detroit Free
Press