The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-20

| Il appeared to the spectators, fully 500 feet,
when the balloon was caught In sudden
blast OF wind and capsiEed. The parachute
failed to do Its duty, and young Twiss. the
balloon, and the parachute all came tum-
bling to the earth In heap together'
Luckily, the amateur aeronaut and his trap
pings fell first into the branches Of a big
tree. Then, through the thick foliage, Twiss
came tumbling to the ground, the force OF
his fall much broken. He was picked up
unconscious, and carried to hospital. the
surgeons found several bones broken, but
said he would recover. Twiss will not try
balooning again.
An unexpected balloon ride carried
height Of 1900 feet, and, strange to say,
he returned to earth unhurt This voyage
was made at the Mad River Valley Fair in
September, 1897, in hot-air balloon While
assisting in the prelimnares for an ascen-
sion, Mccarthy got tangled In the car-ropes,
was made a prisoner, and he shot into the
air far above the bare top of Bald Mountain.
More than 1000 men, women, and children
witnessed his remarkable flight In the hrst
confusion Of the start upward the specta-
tors did not recognize Mccarthy In the
balloon. They saw stranger In the rig
ging, dangling below the big canvas bag,
and, naturally thought, as every
thing went UP noiselessly, that his presence
there was an unadvertised part Of the pro-
gramme. What made the double ascension
still more interesting to them was the
everyday appearance Of the man. He was
dressed, not in ballet costume, like the wo-
man, but in modest farm clothes. There
fore. the crowd sent UP a rousing cheer to
the balloon. In answer the young woman
who rested comfortably on the trapeze bar
bowed and threw a kiss to her admirers
As for the other performer, the man in
shirt-sleeves, he seemed frightened. He
neither bowed nor waved his hand, but
held on tight and took no notice of the
spectators. They watched him rise to a
height Of $500 feet, where like his COM
panion. he was merely a dot at the end Of a
thread. At this point the young woman
said good-by to Mccarthy. and took her
parachute Jump downward. He naturally
preferred her company in that lonely region.
but with true Green Mountain grit he held
on to the ropes and patiently awaited de-
velopments.
Freed of the weight Of the girl and para
chute, which dropped towards the fair
grounds, Mccarthy and his airshp leaped
500 feet higher. Personally, he was salts
fed with $500 feet, but he was compelled
to obey the law of nature. He held his
breath. and grasped the ropes tighter. At
la8ly in the still mountain air. Far above
Bald Mountain he took a panoramic view of
the scenery. which showed the Montreal
mountain in Canada, the white peaks In
New Hampshire, the whole sweep Of YER
mont to the south, and Lake Champlain and
the Adirondacks in New York state. But
the man in the balloon soon tired Of his
view. He then waited for the hot. smoky
air in the bag to cool, and take him home.
His descent was as easy and graceful as
the parachute drop of the young woman.
He landed, uninjured, not half a mile from
the fair grounds People surrounded him
as they would hero. In a few words he
told the story of his wonderful experience
in midair, then htched UP his horse, jump
ed into his wagon, and drove home. He has
since died comfortably in bed.