The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1901-11-01
LEAP FROM CLOUDS

The parachute jumper is a compar-
auvely recent product In the profess
sion OF ballooning The first parachute
Jumper. the first man literally TO make
the leap from the clouds. was Sam
Baldwin. now successful mGnufac-
turer OF balloons at Quincy. ILL., Bald
win, his brother and Prof Van Tassel.
three gas balloon men. happened to
meet In a Los Angeles hotel in the
summer Of 1857. Each had hard
luck story TO tell and Il was unani-
mously agreed that the business had
gone to the dogs. As means OF re-
suscitating It and rescuing Il from the
canine grasp Baldwin suggested the
parachute leap. The others did not
believe 1t possible for man to MAKE
the jump and live
Out OF the chafilng came determin-
alton to make the experiment. None
Of them was willing to offer himself up
as sacrifice. so bag OF sand was
substituted The balloon was sent up
from the commons with a long string
attached TO the parachute rope. When
the bag had risen in a height OF three
quarters OF mile the cord was pulled
and the chute cut loose. Il dropped
Like a log for a hundred feet. then
opened and came slowly down to earth.
Repeated experiments convinced each
that II was safe trick with man in
place OF the bag OF sand. Van TasseI
then went to Frisco TO interview the
newspapers and get them to send spe-
cials to Los Angeles. but while he was
away the impatient Baldwins expert
mentod themselves and Sam made the
first jump In history safely and easily.
Tho Baldwins we're quick TO realize
the money value Of being FIRST in the
field and they started east to inaugur-
ate the sport there. The greatly In
censed Van Tassel broke with them
and getting an outfit began making as
cents himself.
Act Drew Immense Crowds.
The new act leaped into popular IA
Vor at once. The incredible daring OF
the performance and the seeming fact
that II was more than an equal chance
that the aeronaut would be dashed to
pieces drew immense crowds every
where the leep was advertised TO take
place. The man who rode the bag"
could command almost any price he
asked. For some time the three bal
loonlsts who told each other hard-luek
stories In Los Angeles had the field ID
themselves. Most OF the other aero
nnuts were afraid OF II. with four as
sistants and pushing manager the
Baldwins made n tour around the
world. In a year and half they net
ted a cool 100000 in cash. To this
they added big money secured from the
managers OF many eastern resorts.
Rive hundred dollars was the fixed
charge for one performance.
With the advent OF other riders OF
the bag" as the technical term OF the
profession is, prices began to drop.
Many Jumpers Bring Prices Down.
From $1,000 chat was once paid for
Fourth OF July performances at the big
resorts, prices went steadily down
ward. until $3.50 was reached. sun
hhpit itNAhiAn Nhlntt anu uOWhuhlb lnt
ruling price is from S25 to $40. due
largely TO the presence OF many
farmers" in the business, men who
use II as a means OF making a little
side money during the summer. No
one has ever compiled an accurate list
OF the number OF men who depend up
on the parachute jumping as a means
of livelihood. but estimates range from
800 10 500. with no basis OF guessing
how many local performers there are.
Startling Novelties Devised.
The public craze for novelty, com
bined' with the desire to excel, caused
n number OF startling innovations.
First came the man and u woman, then
later the dog was added. First the
man and women rode on the same bar.
Later they had separate parachutes.
tied 10 the same bar When the dog