The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-08-09
AIRSHlP COLLAPSES.
S1 1NTOS-DUMONT HAS N4RROW
 ESCAPE FROM DEATH.
ist, However, Unhurt and Wfil Re- sumo Ills Experiments Succeeded in Rounding the Tower.

sume Ills Experiments Succeeded tn
 Rounding the Tower.
 Paris, Aug. S.-M. Santos-Dumont the aeronaut, to-day again attempted
 to circle Eiffel tower. He succeeded in
 rounding the tower with difficulty. The
 balloon was then unable to make head way against strong winds, and fell near
 a house in the vicinity, remaining sus- pended for some time. M Santos-Du-
 mont was not injured.
 STRUCK BY THE WIND. | M. Santos-Dumont started from the
 Pare de St. Cloud at 6:10 a. m. His ini- | tial movements were promising, as the balloon turned around Eiffel tower,
 nine minutes and thirtyfour seconds after starting, and reheaded for St. l Cloud Just over the Avenue Henri
 Marion, however, strong gust struck
 the aerostat, which veered violently to one side, almost simultaneously bound- ing backward a distance of fifty yards. | The hydrogen gas was forced from the | front to the back part of the balloon, l creating a sudden expansion which | caused the machine to dip.
 | Her screw touched the steel cards and broke them. M. Santos-Dumont | immediately stopped the motor and | the balloon began to descend. Unfor- tunately, the cover of the aerostat struck the corner of a six story build | ing. A report like the shot of can non followed. The balloon collapsed and fell rapidly, Luckily, the frame caught in the coping of the building, and the balloon remained suspended; otherwise, M Santos -Dumont would have been killed.
 As it was, the aeronaut hung in most dangerous position in mid-air for half an hour when he succeeded in catching the iron bar of window, to which he hung uptil rescued by ropes. The explosion of the balloon attract ed enormous crowds, and the reception of M. Santos-Dumont upon reaching the street was most enthusiastic, many women clinging to his neck and kissing him repeatedly. The balloon ist escaped without scratch, however, and as he superintended the removal of the machine he said he was quite ready to recommence operations.
 M. Duetsch who offered the prize of 100000 francs for the rounding of Elf fel tower and the return to the starting point within a given period of time, was so affected by the danger that Santos-Dumont had passed through that he told him that he would rather present him with the prize at once than to see him kill himself with his experi- 1,,t tl,, 1,ol1 tct pt11i inI he had rounded Eiffel tower in such a short period of time that he considered the result too satisfactory to permit the reinquishment of his attempts in the future.
 SANTOS STORY.
 M. Santos Dumont gave the follow ing account of his trip:
 This time 1t was not the fault of the motor, which worked admirably. It was the balloon which caused the accl- dent. I rounded the Elffel tower with good speed, as I had favorable winds and was already returning over the Bois de Boulogne when the wind fresh ened suddenly and struck me sideways.
 Like a ship in @ storm, the balloon pitched and rolled, now and then recoV- ering it's normal position Another sudden veering of the wind caused the front of the balloon to pitch downward, and the ropes connecting 1t with the frame caught in the propeller, which struck the balloon wires, The latter breaking, I saw the danger. and my only thought was to descend as quick ly as possible. This l was doing sue cessfully. but I was driven by a con trary wind in the direction of the Elffel tower. Again the breeze veered and threw me against the building.
 "The balloon burst like a toy gas balloon, and the fragments fell, com pletely covering me. The rest you know I am unhurt. I have not a scratch, and will soon recommence.
 ''The motor is uninjured, I have worked it for ten minutes. l will now send it to St. Cloud and set to work re- pairing the balloon. It is simply a matter of sewing the pieces together.
 "The cause of the accident is that the balloon was insufficiently filed knew this The ventilator also worked bad ly."
 M. DEUTSCH DISCOURAGED.
 M Deutsch, who was present at the start shed tears when he saw the bal loon falling In an interview, after highly praising the courage and skill of M. Santos -Dumont, he said:
 q am afraid the experiments will not he conclusive, as his balloon will all ways be at the mercy of the wind, which is not the kind of airship we have dreamed of"
 The earonaut attributes his escape
 rp toI fS him by the Countess dEu the other | day, on the occasion of one of his as- cents. This medal he wears attached to bracelet on his wrist
 When M. Santos Dumont referred to this belief he reverently kissed the medal.