The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-24
SIZES a WOMAN OF NERVE.
A Feminine Aeroneut Who Drops
Two miles With Her Parachute.

mime. Crawford, aeroneut." is the way
her cards read. Libby is what her I'M
Gle and manager, G. w. Richards calls her.
Whether her name be madame or just plain
everyday Libby, she is a brave little
woman and In truth flies very high" One
would not take her for professional female
of any character. She is plain of speech
and demure of manner. There are no frills
bout her in private life. even if she does
appear in public in bedizened toggery. A
reporter had an interesting hours chat
with the daring aeronaut. yesterday even
ing in her home at.4 739 Garfield avenue
She had Just got up from sick bed.
Monday she SCARED for above the clouds In the
| awed presence of 100 900 ST. Loulsans at the
| fair grounds and shot down to earth again,
| dangling to a parachute. She was sick then
suffering terrible agony-and her physician
| told her not to make the ascension, but with
an injection of morphine to allay her pain
she swung to the trapeze when the ropes OF
the big balloon we're cut, and she went
twirling up into the cloud region, Just be-
cause the ascension was advertised and
could not disappoint that monster crowd of
100, 900 people" AS result she Is liable to
be sick for many day to come, and maybe
| she'll never get well.
81 don't know" said Mime. Crawford,
what impelled me to become On aeronaut.
Just my uncomfortable passion for advent
ure, guess It was two years ago when
! the desire seized me, and / haven't rid my
! self of 1t yet. Since then have made 100
ascensions, have had three ribs broken, and
my spine telescoped, and | think am now
the only female baloonist, aud parachute
leaper In this country. At Pennington,
Mo-, soon after had started in the business,
| my parachute got cranky when had cut
myself loose 5000 feet above the earth, and
it was a wonder I wasn't killed. 1 sailed
down easy enough for the first 5000 feet,
! but at 3 900 feet / struck a swift counter
current of air which twisted the parachute
around rapidly aud plunged the top down so
that / only prevented it from turning inside
out with the greatest difficulty. knew
| that was in danger, but nv presence of
mind never left me for an instant. When
| about 10 feet from the ground another gust
Of wind overpowered me aud turned the
parachute completely inside out The ropes
tangled with my feet, jerked my hold loose
from the bar, and I plunged downward
| head foremost. saw huge rec direc fly
under me, and I reached my hands to
catch a line, but l missed and struck the
| ground fairly upon my feet, fell over aud
tainted away. When l came too discov-
cred that had received the injuries told
you about.
''What does it require TO become an aero
maui? Well, the only thing can think of
| is nerve. l have never yet had that feeling
| called fear. / wish l could experience it
once; it would be such an entirely new
sensation to me- With nerve and cool
head, which always go together, any one
can be an aeronauT and parachute jumper.
| o, no! I'm not afraid of getting killed.
| What if others in the business have had tho
life crushed Out Of them. That's no sign
that I'll meet that fate. I have made up
| my mind that if ever / feel the least appre-
1 ~ IL
balloon, no matter if a million people are
| gazing at me. That's the way I'll keep
from getting killed. 1 have never made an
ascension of less than 5000 feet Eight
| thousand is the average. and I've gone as
high as $4,000. Monday the balloon took
me 5000 feet before l jumped. l use only
| the hot air balloon. 1t takes me along
faster than the average train scoots along
| over the earth. The sensations experience
when going up are thrilling enough, but
they are nothing like those | experience
while coming down. l travel faster on the
descent. A mile minute is slower than /
shoot downward through the air. In as
cending, the balloon continuously whirls
Ike a top. It's calculated to make ones
head dizzy, but the .scenes shift with such
lightning-like rapdity that don't have
time to allow my brain to get spinning As
the earth recedes from me the tallezt build
ing In this city looks like ohilds toy house,
I bI1Ok6 SUaCkb nhNe Jue appearances Vi
straws, and the Mississippi river dwindles
| to the insignifcance of a thread. Up, up,
up go, each 100 feet adding perceptibly to
the chilliness Of the atmosphere, and all OBJ
jects beneath me growing smaller and
smaller until in a twinkling they are lost to
| view.
There is nothing under me now but vast
expanse of gray midst. Above the sky is
bluer than any blue you ever saw, and 1t
seems to be bending toward me. When I
F., lose sight of the earth, even with sight of
my telescope. I know / am 7,774 feet up.
The air is crisp and chill, and my ears aud
fingers tingle with the cold. A rose l wear
at my throat is chilled and frozen now,
aud its petals warp, as in pity, and fall
| from the stern. But still my balloon is
! whirling me higher. The air is so thin l
breathe with difficulty. Through dense
cloud am jerked, and come out drenched
and NUM- bed. Nine thousand feet, and the
air in my ballon is chilled. A lurch down
| ward, and tremulous flap OF the monster
canvas tells me it is time TO cut the rope
that binds my parachute to the balloon. But
| a hurried look around warns me that there
| Is danger. The rope is all twisted and
twirled, and the parachute is tied into a
| knot am In counter current of air. The
wind is blowing tornado, aud if l should
loosen the rope now the sides of my para
| chute would be slammed together so | could
never open them and I would drop to the
earth like bar of lead therefore cling
| on TO the balloon until it floats through this
fierce current tn at seems hooking me with
its cruel whistle. Once past it and l am
| safe.
"Then cut the rope and shoot downward
| like an arrow for several hundred feet The
| swift motion accumulates sufficient air
under the folds of my parachute to spread
| it open like an umbrella, and have smooth
though swift sailing for the rest of my wey
| But 90 so fast that am afraid to open my
mouth for fear the wind will take my breath
away have my teeth clamped tightly
| on little stick, smaller than a pencil.
| Somehow this stick helps me to keep my
mouth shuttIght. | am hardly ever more than
3 minute coming down. When the air tells
me that am getting near the earth open
| my eyes to look around. | have the para
chute under perfect control, aud if 1 see l
| am about to descend on a tree or a roof /
direct the parachute around It, When 200
| or 300 feet from the ground Iswing from the
| crossbar by my hands in order that l may
| light on my feet.
| F'No, have known very few aeronauts,"
said Nine Crawford. ~ have never met a
woman In the business, aud only hear of
them when they get killed by parachute
leap. Mime. Rose met her death at Cincin-
natl the last Fourth Of July. The Lady in
| GRAY IA she called herself was killed last