The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-01-18
80 :
THE AERIAL PROFESSION.
a Lady Parachutist Describes What is
Necessary for It's Success.

a Lady Parachutist Describes What Is
Necessary for It's Success.
Among the LADY parachutists' of
London. where the occupation seems to
be somewhat in vogue, is Nine. Craw-
ford. Her remarks as 10 what first led
her 70 choose this profession and its va
rious attractions and drawbacks are in
terestiDg and instructive even to that
portion Of wonankind that does not
expect to earn its living by nid-air
feats.
81 don't know" said the lady, what
smpeled me to become an aeronaut.
just my uncomfortable passion for ad-
venture, suppose. 1t was two years
ago when the desire seized me, and /
haven't rid myself of it yet"
Nine. Crawford's experiences would
have cured most OF her sex of any wild
desire for adventure. She has made
one hundred and sixty-nine ascensions,
has had three ribs broken and her spine
injured. But the passion for parachut-
ing burns as strongly yet as did the re-
nowned Sam Patch's for leaping, and if
the experience of all past persisted
parachutists goes for anything, is likely
to end as disastrously.
She has never made ascent of less
than five thousand feet, and has gone
rs high as twelve thousand. She uses
the hOt-air balloon, which whizzes her
up into the air faster than the average
trains bear their passengers over the
surface of the earth. She travels faster
In the descent-moro than a mile
minute When the earth has disap-
peared from view. even with q tele-
scope, she knows that she Is seven
thousand above it. The air is very cold,
her ears and fingers tingle and any
flowers with which she may have
been adorned when she began her
ascent are frozen. The air is 30 thin
that it is difficult to breathe. She is
jerked through cloud and comes out
on the other side numbed and moist.
The air in the balloon is also chilled,
and lurch Of the machine downward
tells her il is time to cut the rope that
binds the parachute to the balloon.
She shoots downward for several hun
dred feet with great rapidity, and suf-
1icient air is accumulated beneath tho
folds of the parachute to spread ii like
an umbrella Then Nine. Crawford
shuts her eyes. bites more closely on
the little stick she keeps in her mouth
TO prevent her opening it, and spins
downward. When the air tells her she
as near the earth she opens her eyes,
steers about any trees, roofs or other
obstacles, swings from the cross bar by
her hands and drops upon her feet.
That is the programme when every
thing goes well. When, however. the
air beneath the folds Of the parachute
is sufficient TO turn it inside out the re-
suit is disastrous. Mime. Crawford des-
cribes one such experience. The ropes
got tangled with her feet and ierked
her hold from the bar. 81 plunged
violently downward" says the lady.
81 saw huge tree directly under mo
and reached out my hands to catch
limb, but missed it and struck the
ground fairly upon my feet, fell over
and tainted away"
Nine. Crawford, however, having so
far escaped with only the trifing in
juries mentioned, doesn't regard the
dangers of her aerial profession as suf-
hcient to interfere seriously with its
pleasures IN. Y. World.