The Van Buren press., 1893-04-22
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
AN ENGLISH AERoNAur.
Her Experiences May Be Interesting to
WOmanklnd the World Over.

Her Experiences May Be Interesting to
Womanklnd the World Over.
Among the '.lady parachutists' Of
London, where the occupation seems to
oe somewhat in vogue. is Mime. Craw-
ford. Her remarks as to what first led
her to choose this profession. and its va
rious attractions and draw backs, are
interesting and instructive, even to
that portion of womankind that does
not expect to earn Its living by midair
feats
II don't know" said the lady. what
impclled 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"
Mime. Crawfords experiences would
have cured most Of her sex of eny wild
desire for adventure She has made one
hundred ascensions, has had three ribs
broken, and her spine injured. But the
passion for parachuting burns as
strongly vet a did the renowned Sam
Patch's for leaping, and II the experi-
ence Ct all past persistent parachutists
goes for anything is likely to end as
disastrously.
The only stock required to begin the
business, Nine. Crawford said, is nerve.
She modestly remarks that she has
never yet had the feeling known as
fear, and even goes SO far as to wish
she might experience it. at would be
such an entirely new sensation to me, !"
she says. However, she adds that II
ever she feels the slightest apprehen-
sion as to the result she will not make
the ascent, though multitude be wait
ing.
She has never made an ascent OF less
than 5000 feet, and has gone as high
as 1a,000 She uses the hot-air balloon,
which whizzes her up into the air fast
er than the average trains bear their
passengers over the surface of the earth.
She travels faster in the descent-more
than mile minute. When the earth
has disappeared from view, even with
telescope, she knows that she is 1000
feet above it. The air is very cold, her
ears and fingers tingle, and any flowers
with which she may have been adorned
with when she began her ascent are
frozen. The air is SO thin that 1t is diff
ficult to breath. She is jerked through
q cloud and comes out on the other side
numbed and moist. The air in the bal
loon is also chilled. and lurch of the
machine downward tells her it is time
to cut the rope that binds the par
achute to the balloon. She shoots
downward for several hundred feet
with great rapidity, and sufficient air is
accumulated beneath the folds Of the
parachute to spread 1t like an umbrella.
Then Mime. Crawford closes 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 Is 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 ont the re-
suit is disastrous. Nine. Crawford de.
scribes one such experience. The ropes
got tangled with her feet and jerked
her hold from the bar. Il plunged vio-
lently downward says the lady. II
saw huge tree directly under me and
! reached out my hand to catch limb,
but missed it and struck the ground
fairly upon my feet, fell over and faint
ed away" 800
Mime. Crawford, however, having so
FAR escaped with only the trifiing inju-
ries mentioned, doesn't regard the dan
gers Of her aerial profession as sufficient
to interfere seriously with its pleasures.
IN. Y. World ~