The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-05-07

days." said the retired aeronaut, as he
tossed aside batch of circulars ex
planning how easy and safe parachute
jumping is in this age of mechanical
achievement, and incidentally calling
attention to the extraordinary low
prices for which aerial outfits were of
fered. 1T wasn't so ten years ago.
Then a man made an ascent that
was an ascent He didn't begin work
ing the lever the minute he got above
the tree tops, and could just about
make outNwhere to land. Instead he let
the machine almost reach the cloud
line; then he let loose and came down
in full view of the people for miles
around Such an ascension was worth
while seeing, and it was we'll worth
making.
Parachute jumping is modern adj
iunct to the ballooning business. The
records are silent as to the identity OF
it's inventor, but it is not more than
fourteen or fifteen years since it was
first attempted. Hundreds and even
thousands of dollars We're paid in those
days for a single ride.
'sOut at Quincy, ILL.,, along in 1888,
lived two young fellows named Bald
win BY dint of long practice in the
gymnasium they became experts on the
bar and trapeze. Both were daring ath-
letes. and they turned their nerve and
training to good account They were
among the first to take up the new
idea, and gave exhibitions of dropping
from the clouds in various parts eff
the world, including Constantinople, vi
enna Berlin and Calcutta. They came
home in 1890 with 800, coo clear money
Today they. are among the substantial
the baseball park and proprietors of a
big factory, which turns out everything
needful for an aeronaut.
Another of the pioneers was Profess
sor Van Tassel He taught his wife the
business. and the pair of them made big
money before competition cut prices to
pieces. Van Tassel, by the way, is
dead now About four years ago he
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 gone out in tugboat
for the purpose of picking him up.
II took my first lesson in riding the
bag from Van Tassel 1t came about in
a curious way. About eight years ago
the Union Pacific Railroad began its
attempt to make the Great Salt Lake
in Utah a popular inland seaside resort.
All sorts of attractions were offered.
Among them were various sorts of out
door performances of the kind made
familiar by the circus.
My partner and l were doing ira
peze turn at the beach. One day as we
sat at lunch in a downtown restaurant
| my eye fell upon a big three-sheet post
er announcing the first balloon ascen-
sion by the great Van Tassel at Car
| field Beach on the following day. Para
| chute jumping was little known in those
Gays, and we made merry over the pos
sibility of doing what was set forth on
the poster.
AT the next table sat man who
seemed nightly interested in our con-
versation. The bills set forth some i'm
| mense sum that was to be paid the
| famous traveller of the air, and | re-
marked that I would be perfectly will
ing to make the trip for 500. The next
day as we were walking on the beach
the man we had seen in the restaur-
ant approached and began talking bal
loon. He asked if I was prepared to
make good the offer of the day before.
was decidedly taken aback and be-
gan to stammer a reply.
Then he explained that he was Van
| Tassel, and that he and his wife lived
in San Francisco. The engagement had
been made by telegraph. and in the
hurry of packing his canvas the bal
loon used by his wife had been substi-
tuted for his own.
You know that parachutes are of
different dimensions, graded according
to the weight of the performer His
wife weighed 135; he weighed 40; and
to use her outfit was out of the Dues
ton. 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. He offered me $500 if
| would go up the first two days by
which time he expected his balloon
would arrive.
1T is a point of honor with show peo-
pie to make good their little bluffs, and
while | was hesitating he kept showing
at me column after column of news
paper clippings, intending to prove that
there was nothing dangerous about the
leap. The upshot of it was that I took
him up, and that afternoon I decked
myself in my prettiest pair of tights,
determined to die beautifully if not
bravely
Il must have shown something of
my inward misgivings in my eye, as
the professor gave me last oppor-
tunity to back out. / was game, how
ever, and let them tie the lifeline to me
and grasped the bar in both hands.
''The bag looked like a live monster
as it tugged and leaped at its leash. 1t
was ninety-footer, of the kind then
made to rise with startling rapidity,
so that the jumper could get the most
there was out of the spectacular part
of it. My nerve almost failed me as
I