Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1894-1895, 1895-07-05
HER PERILOUS FLIGHT.
More of the Story of Girls Thrill
ling Experience in Burning
Balloon.

In the little town of olympic, New
South Wales, just month ago to-day,
according to papers brought by the
Australian steamer MiCWera, a crowd
of curious sightseers were treated to an
which for time held them
spellbound with hearts that seemed no
longer to beat, and which, when the
terrible tention was relaxed and they
knew they were not TO be the witnesses
of an awful though fascinating fatality,
left the strongest men as weak as child
rem and as hysterical as women.
The town and the country roads had
been billed with flaming posters for
weeks before announcing that the 18th
of April Mile. EsSie NioId, the queen of
American aerOnauts, would give a
balloon ascension and a parachute de-
scent The day came and the expec-
tant little folk of olympic gathered with
their elders to see the show. The hat
was duly passed around, rot once but
half dozen times, as the balloon an
old, we'll used hot air monster
swelled. Then Mile. Viola kissed her
hands to the crowd and seized her hold
of the bar of her trapeze as the balloon
tugged and strained at its ropes.
All was ready and the balloon would
the next moment be released in the ac-
customed way, when the accident oc-
CURED. Swinging sideways the fringe
of the air bag caught the flame and in
startled surprise those who were hold
ing the balloon prisoner until they re-
ceived the release signal let go their
hold. The next moment the gray bag
shot upward, crowned with a vicious
sheet of flame.
The aerOnaut had been waiting her
signal, her hands mechanically holding
tight to the slender trapeze bar upon
which her mid-air featS were to be per-
Toned. There was cry of horror as
the crowd realized the tragic situation
and 500 pairs of hands were outstretched
to grasp the ateperfOrmer. 1t
was too late. The balloon rode straight
in the air, mounting rapidly, then lis
ted to west and swept in the breeze
in that direction, an altitude of fully a
mile being reached before the Mortified
crowd of onlookers could realize what
they were unwillingly witnessing. The
young aeronaut retained all her pres
ence of mind, for she realized that she
required it.
The upward flight of the balloon was
a series of jumps, and the balloonist,
with extreme difficulty, maintained her
seat and cast occasional furtive glances
upward. The fire.. as those be-
low could see, was spreading rapidly,
and her mind and hands were busy.
Winding one leg about the side-rope of
the trapeze, she cody proceeded to UNI
fasten the parachute. It's ropes had be-
come tangled in the escape of the
balloon and it seemed that it would be
impossible to detach it before the fire
completed the destruction of the air
bag, which was rapidly losing its bouy-
ancy and threatened to collapse.
Standing with one foot on the trapeze
bar and the other pointed in space to
balance the 1.-THE figure, Mile. Viola lent
hands and feet to the undOing Of the
knot that defied her hands alone
1t was not before the balloon had
actually begun to fall that success
crowned her efforts. Then as she
abandoned the trapeze and seized the
parachute with both hands the crowd
below saw that she had risked every
thing on the parachute and that it was
indeed leap for life. In silence they
watched the parachute drop, at first re-
fusing to open, and apparently pushing
the woman who chung to it down to a
certain and horrible death.
Then it began to open, and even as it
did so second gasp of horror escaped