New-York tribune., 1901-08-18
SANTOS S-DUMONT.
HIS BRAZILIAN FORTUNE AND HIS SCI.
ENTIFIC PLAY

ENIlt1C PLAY.
From London Truth.
The balloon that IS the sensation of the hour
is called after a young Brazilian of great fort
une. rather the heir 10 a man of enormous
wealth who has forty miles of private railways
ON his estates in Brazil Santos-DUmoHt, jr.,
does not look more than sixteen. RE has a
creole head and figure. He seems as slight anI
supple as a tropical cane, has Portuguese amia-
bihty and goes IN FOR ballOoninS with rare en-
lhusiasm. The steerable balloon Is much more
than his hobby. Not only is he a daring aero
naut himself. but the Mseceras Of balloon build
ers who convince him that their notions are
through a course of technical training under
scientific experts, and may claim to rank in
this special line as a scientist The Santos
Dunent was built at great cost 70 compete for
the t4.ts" prize offered by NJ Henry Deutsch,
the great petroleum refner and the owner Of
the famous motor car Blanchette.
SantOs-DumOnt has ideal figure for balloon
ing under the exceptional circumstances in which
he tried for the Deutsch prize last Saturday. II
is lighter perhaps than a Jockeys. He is
dressed TO minimize the weight OF clothes.
wearing very light flannel shirt and trousers, no
coat or waistcOat. Panama hat and linen shoes
with cork sOles only. Like jockey. he alb
stained from eating drinking for twelve
hours. The aerostat was OF corresponding light
ness. and the was fastened on by piano
strings Of catgut
AS steerable ballooning is in its infancy. the
committee appointed to decide under what con
q tiCns the prize was 20 be given agreed not 70
make them too hard but hard enough 70 dis
courage quacks. The course was 70 be from -.
was to fly around the Eifel Tower and then
back 20 the starting point. IL did nearly all
this. but instead of crossing the Seine ard
alighting where il had set out IL fell in the park
of NJ Edmond de RothschiId at the west ex-
tremity Of the Bots De BouloSne. In the cours-
the balloon was pushed some distance south by
current OF air The balOOnist was obliged -
put all pressure To get back into the right
direction. AS he had had To measure his petro-
leum by the thimbieful. this Will account for his
premature descent
The enforced Hghtness OF the machine and
its motive power shows that while steerabie
balloons are practicable in fine weather they
cannot yet replace fer purposes Of general
locomOtion motor or steam cars running on terra
hrma- The bird uses a quantity OF force in the
down Tapping action Of the wings by means ~
which 1t keeps in the air 1t would be hard to
store prGpoTtionate amount of force in
Santos Dumont balloon In descending. The
steerabie aeTpstat was caught in the branches
Of tree When Baron Edmond De thschild
heard this h. ordered the tree - be cut down
81 as 70 prevent the machinery being injured.
" hen the tree fell the aerOstat found less
spoiled by the accident than had been feared.
Its rntrapped oW ner hopes to make another
ascent.
\ few more details about the air navigator
and his family. santos Dumont. though ju-
vtrie IN appearance Is twenty-five wears Old os
French descent by his mother. and the youngest
OF SIX children His attention was called 10
Iocomoton on his fathers estate when h was a
sIT all boy. His father. Who is a coffee planter
at st Pauls, used 10 let him al the age of
twelve drive d steam engine from one end OF
the estate To the other Nobody could be better
~ NtuDE%trr
ment Of "A compound engine. In his holidays
h did nothing but drive engines. As there We're
four million coffee plants thu estate. and nine
thousand Ia aboreTs. n had enough 20 do.
HE went 10 school for scientific course. and
then came 10 France % perfect himself Here
n took up motor and Siderable balloons.
and has shown qualities might look for in
the United States. but hardly in South America.
II would be impossible for Z. QuaCk 90 take him
in. He does not set up himself 10 invent
chimes, but unly To judge OF those v hich invent
ors bring 10 him and OF the work done by the
ne chancS h. employs He : at the head OF
the special kind OF hallooning that he has taken
Up His rivals for the Deutsch prize are Tatin
and the moT- famous ReIard. Tatin has vet
run his race, and so has f}e1ard The prOpellinS
machine of the former viii be- heavier and CON
tain more petroleum than that Of Santos Du-
mont.
Athletic sports have their reason in a damp
climate where human beings devour more meat
than is good for them But how much better il
would b. were "our boys take up scientific
sports In the santos -Dumont spirit. ~ England
he would boz running horses for useless silver
cups. The only Ensiishman Of great wealth
that can think Of who went in for science ap-
Piled Ia industry was the late Duke uf Suther-
land. Santos -DumOnt has the advantage of the
Duke Of Sutherland in not being Of aristOCr1Jic
birth lie is as sweet ard unaffected good
child and free from Self-ConSciOUsuesS though
he enjoys feeling himself iiuniZed-but anna
bly, that one likes him the more.