The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-04-15
SHOT UP INTO SPACE.
An Unexpected Balloon Ride by, ver-
mont Farmer.

River Valley fair on Sept I, 1897, in
hot air balloon. Tangled in the car ropes,
a prisoner by accident, he shot into the air
10 a height OF 5000 feet, and after strug-
Cling and dangling in midnir helpless be-
low the car he returned TO earth, not
corpse, bur the samc rugged Green noun
tain farmer.
More than 1000 spectators had assem-
bled at the fatr grounds in order to witt
ness the balloon ascension. To make the
ascension as advertised the professor called
TO the crowd for volunteer workmen.
Eugene Mccarthy responded and took his
assigned station inside tho canvas balloon
car, On the outside, by this time, the
huge bag had been raised and supported
securely by guy ropes on all sides. A fire
had been started in o tunnel In order TO
furnish the necessary hot air. Fed by
kerosene, the flame ran through the tun-
mel and came up inside the uplifted bag
with stream of sparks Mccarthy and
the professor were there to prevent these
sparks from firing the cloth. Gradually.
as the current OF hot air swept into the
car, the top part swelled forth until the
airship became restless in its attempts to
leap heavenward. BY the faint applause
outside Mccarthy knew that the young
woman performer who was to make the
descent in parachute, was ready to start
At given signal, in order to escape en-
tanglement In the ropes fastened from the
balloon car to the parachute, Mccarthy
| jumped to tho center of his small circle
space But he caught the hot air from
the tunnel full in his face. Half blinded
by smoke and flame, he naturally stepped
back and Internationally placed foot
across a raised parachute rope. So when
the balloon car, freed from guy ropes
Jumped upward, the volunteer workman
felt the rope tighten under his leg. By
natural impulse he grabbed the rope over
head in order to keep himself from falling
head downward. He accordingly soon
found himself, not on the ground where
he belonged, but in midair, swinging 20
feet above the parachute performer and
| rushing skyward at express train speed
| In the first confusion of the start up
ward the spectators did not recognize Nc
Carthy in the balloon. They saw a stranger
In the rigging dangling below the big
canvas bag and naturally thought, as
everything went up noiselessly, his pres
ence there an unadvertised part of the
programme What made the double as
cension still more interesting to them was
the everyday appearance Of the man. He
was uTtSStu uOJ III btaEc Dolice SOoNoAho
like the woman, but In modest farm
clothes. Therefore, when a short, thick
set man suggested a yell of approval, the
2, 900 men, women and children sent up
mixed cheer to the balloon. In answer
the young woman, who rested comfortably
on trapeze bar, bowed and threw a kiss
to her admirers. As for the other perform
er, 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 height of $500 feet, where
like his companion, he was merely dct
at the end of a thread.
Mccarthy, at the start, heard and obey
ed the sound advice Of the professor to
hold ON tight He felt the earth sink rap
idly as in an express elevator in tall
office building, and at ], 900 feet began to
feel himself more at home. His car then
began to go slower and steadier. So he
examined his position in the balloon. For
a seat, half way Between the hot air bag
and parachute top, he had small iron
ring, to which were fastened the ropes OF
the hot air car and parachute. He at
tempted to look downward, but as the
thought of falling unnerved him he grew
dizzy. Then he remembered faint cheer
and wondered why his friends seemed SO
much pleased at his dangerous position.
His musings in midair continued until he
heard tho voice of his companion per-
former
"HelloP' said she.
"Hellor' said Mccarthy.
"Are you safer" ,2r
81 guess SO. "hs4 l1eu
"Hold on for I'm goingr
"Goodby" said Mccarthy.
"Goodbyl" said the girl.
Although at height Of $500 feet, Mo-
Carthy by this time had begun to be en-
couraged by the presence of his airship
companion. He further had hoped that
because of his accidental trip she might
not make her drop in the parachute Her
announced start homeward therefore gave
him some uneasiness. He naturally pre-
ferred her company. But with true Green
mountain grit he held on to the ropes and
patiently waited for her departure.
From his boyhood Mccarthy had lived
on farm and had never studied at the
little white schoolhouse ON Waitsfield COM
mon such questions as the behavior OF
hot air balloons in the sky. Therefore he
never expected when his friend left him to
shoot higher in the air. Personally no
was satisfied with 2, 500 feet, but he was
forced to obey the law Of nature Freed
of the weight of the girl and parachute,
which dropped toward the fair grounds,
Mccarthy and his airship leaped skyward
again For the next few seconds the soli-
tary prisoner closed his eyelids, held his
breath and grasped the ropes tighter. He
quickly rose 500 feet and there, at an alti-
tude of 5000 feet, fioated lazily in the still
mountain air. Far above Bald mountain
he took panoramic view Of the scenery.
which showed the Montreal mountain in
Canada, the white peaks in New Hamp-
shire, the whole sweep of Vermont to the
south and Lake Champlain and the Adj
rondacks 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
car to cool and take him home.
On the trip homeward Mccarthy equal
led in grace the parachute drop of the
young woman. AS the hot air cooled he
slowly descended and finally disappeared
not half mile from the park behind