The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-28

on terra firma again, but 1t was not half
so violent an act as | had anticipated.
at was entirely my own idea. / made a
detailed study Of the mechanism of the
balloon for two weeks, and finding Mr..
Gould a very careful and practical man in
the management of the graceful air globe,
when he told me l might go up any time
chose l began to consider the matter
more seriously.
II have never had tendencies toward
the circus ring, and plebian love of Great
ing a sensation Is not mine, but II would
be a novel thing and the idea of fiunking
never occurred to me- Gould Crosby and
Burdette worked asslduously to see thar
every rope of the parachute lay on the
ground in perfect order. At last every
thing was ready. The balloon swayed
with symme trical fulness, the ropes at
the bottom were gathered and the para
chute attached. ] got into the trapeze
fixed the wrist lock, and snapped the catch
at my belt.
Il stood firmly on the ground. The word
was given to let go, the balloon arose
from above the pit, the closely folded
parachute was drawn up from the ground
in a taut line. 1t seemed slow motion
enough, but suddenly the trapeze drew me
from my feet and l was swept with great
speed into space. This was the only
frightful moment of the trip. ] was drag
ged away from all things tangible; the
earth was near so that by comparison /
could be aware of my speed, but In
twinkling almost this terror left me. i
tried to grasp by a supreme mental CT
fort the facts Of my condition. and be-
came contented.
IT first looked down and saw the up
turned faces fade instantly until / could
no longer see anything but tiny Cir
Gle. Then l got Of the rope with my
right hand, and taking off my cap, leaned
down and waved it. ! felt sense of ex-
hiaration and thought beard a faint muir
muir or voices.
"Then / looked up: the parachute ropes
were twisted, but my weight caused them
to unwind, and in a moment every cord
hung straight from the folds of the para
chute 10 the ring from which my trapeze
was suspended ] reached up and TOOK
firm hold of this wooden ring and moved
more TO the center of my seat. All feel
ing Of fear was eradicated.
Now, / looked down / could not dis
Germ a human being nor group Of human
beings. The earth was bathed in trans
ulcent twilight, and II seemed as though
far below was spread a wonderful carpet
of soft green and woven with quaint pat
terms. The lake appeared very nearly
under me- distances below were to be
measured in inches The spot of water
was about as large as a sheet of writing
paper. / swept the boundary of the green
circle with my eyes. / could see countless
villages and several cities and the sound.
West Peak was like an ant hill. IT is es-
timated that assembled 1000 feet.
"a pistol shot disturbed me and real
lied the moment to cut loose had come. No
use TO mediate on the possible results;
had thought of that enough before hand.
1 reached up my right hand, and, without
allowing myself to think, gave the rope a
quick and sharp pull. Everything gave
way beneath mel fell a dead weight
probably over a hundred feet. l heard
the swishing Of the folds over my head;
then a fold caught gust OF wind then
another, and seemed TO come to a sud-
den stop / looked up. The parachute
had opened and coated like a protecting
bird overhead. IL took, so am told, over
a minute and a half to ride down.
"As when went up the earth seemed to
sink so as / came down the fairy carpet
danced up to meet me. AT last l saw
dark figures running in the fields. The
houses, woods, and fields moved along in
a procession. I thought 1 would land in
an open meadow, but / passed over IT,
Yes I was about to strike a house,
cleared It and fell easily through the
branches Of a tree. The parachute spread
Itself over the treetop and hung In a
swing II was a small tree and | was
within fifteen feet of the ground. 1t was
an easy task to swing out and slide down
the tree to the ground. My first and only
ascension was over"