The times., 1901-03-31
JUMPING FROM THE SKIES
Parachute Leaping Not as Danger
Gus as 1t Appears to Be.
an Aeronaucs Description of His
Sensations when He Made His In
itiaI PIunRe-Origin of the Thrill
ing Drop From the Clouds.

sensations Nben lie hnof PITS IN
itiaI PIunge-Origin of the Thrill
ing Drop From the Clouds.
Riding the bag is boys play nova
days" said the retired aeronaut. as he
tossed aside batch of circulars explain
ing how easy and safe parachute jumping
is in this age of mechanical achievement
and incidentally calling attention to the
extraordinarily low prices for which
aerial outfits were offered. 1T wasn't so
ten years ago
Then a man made an ascent that was
an ascent He didn't Begin working the
lever the minute he got above the tree
tops and could just about make out where
10 land. Instead he let the machine
almost reach the cloud line; then he let
loose and came down in fun view of the
people for miles around. Such an ascen-
sion was worth while seeing and it was
well worth making.
Parachute jumping is a modern ad
junct to the baIlooning business. The
records are silent as to the identity of
its inventor, but it is not more than
fourteen or fifteen years since it was
first attempted. Hundreds and even
thousands of dollars were paid in those
days for single ride.
two young fellows named Baldwin. BY
dint of long practice in the gymnasium
they became experts on the bar and
trapeze. Both were daring athletes and
they turned their training and nerve to
good account. They were among the first
to take up the new idea and gave exhi-
bitions of dropping from the clouds In va
rious parts of the world, including Con-
stantinople, Berlin, Vienna, and Calcutta.
They came home in 1890 with 100000 clear
money. Today they are among the sub
stantiaI citizens of their home town, own
ers of the baseball park and proprietors
of big factory which turns out every
thing needful for an aeronaut.
Another of the pioneers was Prof. Van
| Tasel. He taught his wife the business
and the pair of them made big money be-
fore competition cut prices TO pieces. Van
Tasel, by the way, is dead now. About
four years ago ne went to the Hawaiian
Islands and made the first ascension ever
witnessed in Honolulu. Unfortunately for
him he dropped into the Pacific Ocean and
was eaten by sharks before the eyes of
his wife who had come out in a tug boat
for the purpose Of picking him up.
Il took my first lesson in riding the bag
from Van Tasel. II came about in q Curl
Gus way About eight years ago the
Union Pacific Railroad began its attempt
to make the Great Salt Lake in Utah
popular inland seaside resort. All sorts
of attractions were offered. Among them
were various sorts of outdoor perform
ances of the kind made familiar by the
circus.
My partner and I were doing trapeze
turn at the beach. One day as we sat at
lunch in a downtown restaurant my eye
fell upon a big three-sheet poster an
nouncing the first balloon ascension by
the great Van Tasel at Garfield Beach on
the following day. Parachute jumping
was little known in those days, and we
made merry over the impossbility of do
ing what was set forth on the poster.
AT the next table sat a man who seem
ed nightly interested III our CONVERSE
ton. The bills set forth some immense
sum that was to be paid the famous trav-
eler of the air and / remarked that 1
would be perfectly willing to make the
| trip for 800 The next day as we were
walking on the beach the man we had
seen in the restaurant approached and
began talking balloon. He asked if L
was prepared to make good the offer of
the day before. l was decidedly taken
aback and began to stammer reply
Then he explained that he was Van
TaSel, ana thdt ne ana MS VIE UNeu III
San Francisco. 1ne engagement had been
made by telegraph and in the hurry OF
hacking his canvass the balloon used
| by his wife had been substituted for his
| own.
You know that parachutes are of diff
ferent dimensions. graded according 10 the
weight OF the performer. His wife weigh
| ed 1876: he weighed 40, and to use her out
| fit was out of the question. He said he
was to get 81 200 for eight ascensions and
| if he could not get a substitute he would
! have TO throw up the contract lie OF
| fered me $500 If | would go up the hrst
| two days. by which time he expected
| his balloon would arrive.
1T is a point of honor with snow peo,
| pie to make good their little blunS, ana
while ] was hesitating he kept showing
| at me column after column OF newspaper
| clippings intended to prove that lheIS
| was nothing dangerous about the leap
| The uushot of It was that | took him up,
and that afternoon l decked myself IN
| my prettiest pair of tights determined
| to die beautifully. if not brayely
| 4 must have shown something OF my
| inward Inisgiving in my eye. as the pro-
| fessor gave me a last opportunity TO pack pack
| out / was game. however, and let them
| tie the lifeline to me and grasped the
| bar in both hands.
| The bag looked like a live monster as
| il tugged and leaped at its leash. II was
| a ufnetV-fOOter of the KIND then MADE 10
| rise with startling rapidity so that the
| Jumper could get the most there was out
! of the spectacular part OF IL My nerve
| almost failed me as the iiltHltilto pcSSVt'
| and if they had not given the signal 10
| lei go when they did l would have ignomi-
| nlously backed down AS il was, was on
| the point of turning round TO speak 10
| Van TaseI when the jerk came.
| Il suppose il was a mere matter OF IN
| stinct but | followed the instructions to
| run q few steps and leap with the pal
| loon in order TO lessen the shock OF the
| sudden separation from the earth. My
| !ees were through rope loops, and the line
would have held me had unconsciousness
! come. but with the first wave of fright
! mast | actually began to enjoy myself.
| i looked down and could see wonder
| full panorama rapidly unfolding under me.
| have seen the same thing many times
| since. but "A more novel sight never struck
! nv vision Mountains seemed TO be slow
| lv ieveled and the waters of the lake
| gradually to spread over the earth, then
| RAPIDLY to recede. | looked up and was
| shocked to find the balloon gone. Appar-
| emily 1 was suspended from nothing but
a hundred feet of taut rope In fact, the
bag had simply gone into a cloud and was
out of sight
| The next instant l heard the signal
| shot from tuc professors revolver. My
| hand went out in search of the cutoff
| rope 1 clutched it, then | let it go again.
| NV heart was in my throat. Just one
| pun saTi my brain Again my hand
| went out Again / hesitated. Only a
| little tug and then, what? Well, If / had
| had any idea of how long it took the old
! stvle chute to open | would never have
| plucked up courage enough to pull that
, cord NV heart was beating a tattoo in
| my breast and it was about all that |