The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1898-03-09
KILLED BY SHARKS.
I'D ,rlc FATE OF AN AERONAUT IN
HAVANA HARBOR.

1,,fasted with Eavenous Map Eetcrs.
49,. nesosnt of Ramon Margu.ie4' J3aI-
1,to the Rarbor-Attelnpt of an
electric Launch Party to Rescue Him
..rro,-ona barbor is as jammed full of
.,- eating sharks as the upper 0rinoco is
\ iL', ,,I;oorors" said a Washington man
lived for several years in the Cuban
;+ol land, although tbs sorry enough
w. 70 have to say, l cannot believe that
If the bodies of the poor fellows
W. lost their lives in the Maine disaster
xrA no cast ND on the beach. Aside from
tb4Oi, man eaters that infest the harbors
of Ao islands in the south Pacific, close
+o III line 1 don't believe the waters of
the wole world hold any more ravenous
or feraious sharks than those that make
sea babing in Havana harbor luxury
that is ndulged in only by the most reck-
less and foo lhardy men. The so called
man eaters of northern waters, big and
1pIv ms they look, are generally as rank
towards of the sea as coyotes are Of the
Ind and a whole school of sharks of the
emperate zone will scoot from a level
haded man who keeps up steady kick
ba and splashing in the water like pack
o released rats scdrrying from terrier
K1t the sharks of Havana harbor have got
taste of human blood-for scarcely
week passes that some silly Havana man
I,
tie man eaters-and the fact is no longer
dfputed by seafaring men that once
shark acquires an appetite for human be-
iIgs he will risk anything afterward to
auease that appetite.
When the city of Havana was celebrat.
iDr. six years ago, the anniversary of the
bitb Of the young king of Spain, the next
biggest feature of the blow out after the
bulfghts was a balloon ascension by
Spanish aeronaut named Ramon Margu-
lie l was spending the holiday on an
electric launch with party of friends, and
ID the afternoon we watched for the as.
Cen;ion, Along about 4 o'clock wc saw
tbeballOOn shoot into the air from one of
tbeminor plazas, with Margulies, dressed
in gmnast's tights, hanging by his legs
J
basket. The air was very still, and the
ocro1aut had apparently figured on max
ing a reasonably high straight up ascent, !
and then, by pulling the escape valve, to |
decend within the city or on its outskirts. !
As be must have known how thickly the |
harbor was infested with sharks he could |
certainly not have seriously entertained |
the thought Of letting his balloon descend |
in the harbor.
AT any rate, when his balloon reached |
an altitude Of about half a mile, we could |
Gee that it had swan into q current of air
that plainly began to carry it over the har
5of WIKI the aid of our glasses we could |
perceive The aeronaut climbing from the
Uapeze into the basket, and a moment or
so after be disappeared from view it, be-
came apparent to us that he bad pulled the .
escape valve, for the balloon began to rap.
Idly descend, but by the time the valve !
was opened the upper air current had car.
RED r0- balloon well over the waters of tho
Day. The engineer of our launch. at nv
direction, started four bells for the spot in
-Le Natcr where we figured the balloon
"C'lN descend, for we all knew that the
'GoneuJ would not be long in the water
before the sharks got after him. The bal.
oOh came down too swiftly, however for
me launch to be of any assistance to Mar.
suIles We were 200 yards away when the
basket OF the almost collapsed balloon
truck the water. just before the basket
oucbed the water Margulies appeared on
Is edge and Owed head first into the har.
lor' IN Order apparently, to prevent his
Jecaming cntanclcd with the basket net.
Ih'' We saw his head bob up once, and
We put on all power to reach him with the
aU@-I. But wien We saw a dozen big
"3h caters 1ins clcayi2g the water straight
Or the spot whore tho unfortunate aero.
laut head had appeared we knew that
was all mp With him. lie did not show
10 TIE surface again, and when we reached
ne spot where lie had jumped in we saw
o'hlhg but little eddies of blood on tn |
uFI"ce OF the water. The sharks had tCrI |
,lN 10 pieces. Washington Star.