The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-08-09
Hung to the Wreck of His Machine
and the Iron Bar of Window
for Half an Hour.
JOY OF A PARISIAN CROWD
WOMEN CLUNG TO HIS NECK AND
KISSED HIM REPEATEDLY,
while Men Cheered Him when He
Reached the Street i'm Safcty-Not
Daunted by the Accident.

PARIS, Aug. S-M. Dumont, the aeronaut,
this morning again attempted to circle
Eiffel tower. He succeeded in rounding
the tower with difficulty. The balloon was
then unable to make headway against
strong winds, and fell near a house in the
vicinity. remaining suspended for some
time NJ. Santos Dumont was not in
jUred.
Santos Dumont started from the Pare de
st. Cloud at 6:10 a. m. amid hearty cheers
His initial movements were promising, az
the balloon turned around Eiffel tower nine
minutes and thirty-four seconds aftef
starting and headed for ST. Cloud. just
over the Avenue Henri Marcsau, however,
a strong gust of wind struck the aerostat,
which veered violently to side, almost
simultaneously bounding backwards a dis
tance of fifty yards
The hydrogen gas was forced from the
front to the back part of the balloon
creating a sudden expansion, which caused
the machine to dip. Her screw touched the
steel cords and broke them. M. Santos Du-
mont Immediately stopped the motor and
the balloon began to descend. Unfortunate
ly the cover of the aerostat struck the cor
ner Of a six-story building. a report like
the shot of a cannon followed. The balloon
collapsed and fell rapidly. Luckily the
frame caught on the coping of the build
ing and the balloon remained suspended,
otherwise Santos Dumont would have been
killed. AS Il was the aeronaut hung in a
most dangerous position i'm midair for half
an hour until, by a eieat effort, he sue
ceeded in catching the iron bar of a window,
to which he chung until rescued with some
difficulty by the use OF ropes. The balloonist
escaped without a scratch, however. The
explosion Of the balloon attracted enormous
crowds, and the reception of NJ. Santos Du-
mont, upon reaching the street. was most
enthusiastic, many women clinging to his
neck and kissing him repeatedly.
AS Santos Dumont superintendent the
moval of the machine, he said he was quite
ready TO recommence operations.
NJ Deutch. who offered the prize of co0
the return to the starting point within q
given period of time. affected by
the danger through which NJ. Santos Du-
mont passed that he told him that he would
rather present him with the prize a once
than to see him kill himself with his ex-
periments, but the balloohist replied that
he had rounded Eiffel tower i'm such a
short period of time that he considered the
result too satisfactory TO permit the re-
linquishment of his attempts in the future.
NJ. Santos Dumont gave the following
count Of his trip: This time il is not the
fault of the motor which worked admir-
ably 1t was the balloon which caused the
admirable speed, as ] had favorable wind,
and was already returning over the Boies
de Boulogne when the wind freshened sud-
denly and struck sideways. Like a
ship in a storm the balloon pitched and
rolled, now and then recovering its normal
position. Another sudden veering of the
wind caused the front Of the balloon to
pitch downwards and the ropes connecting
IL with the frame caught in the propeller,
which struck the balloon wires. They broke
] saw the danger and my only thought was
to descend as quickly as possible. This |
was doing successfully. but was driven by
a contrary wind in the direction of the
Eiffe tower Again the breeze veered and
threw me against a building The balloon
burst like toy gas balloon, and the frag-
ments fell, completely covering me- The
rest you know. | am unhurt. l have not a
scratch and will soon recommence The
motor is uninjured l nave worked il for
ten minutes l will now send il to ST Cloud
and set to work repairing the balloon. 1t is
simply a matter of setting the pieces to-
gether. The cause of the accident was that
the balloon was insufiiciently filled. / knew
this The ventilator also worked badly"
NJ. Deutch. who was present a the start
IN an interview, said: Il am afraid the ex-
periments will not be conclusive, as his
balloon will always be at the mercy of the
wind, which Is not the kind of airship We
have dreamed of"