The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-04-19
WHEN The AERONAUT DROPS.

hand went out in search of the cutoff
rope. clutched it, then I let it &c
again. My heart was in my throat
Just one pull said my brain. Agar
my hand went out. Again l hesitated
Only little tug and then what? Well
If I had had any idea of how long II
took the old style chute to open !
would never have plucked up courage
enough to pull that cord. My heart
1t was about all that could do to hole
on 1 cautiously tried the rope. II
seemed to be working. Then cut
loose.
1T was clear drop Of several hun.
dred feet before there was any stayin6
of the downward momentum. = sick.
ness that seemed mortal possessed me
A drowning man, they say, sees his
life pass before him in review. I saw
nothing, I felt everything. My only
recollection Is Of a horror, terrible
black shape crouching just above me.
l did not even think to look at the
chute. I simply held on and FELL fell
Then, just before unconsciousness
came, just as 1 had made up my mind
that the thud was coming the next mo-
ment, I seemed to awake from dream
to find myself sailing slowly; oh. SO
slowly, 1t seemed, down to earth again.
although really at the rate Of 100 feet
second. The change came SO swiftly
that it did not seem real.
But there before me was the pretttest
and most welcome sight had ever seen
the lake, the mountains, the tiny hui
man specks on the beach. OF to one side
l saw the big balloon just toppling over
for its drop. minute later struck the
beach with suddenness that Jared me
almost unconscious.
THE next moment half score of boat
men were pulling in my direction. A
special prize Of S25 had been offered the
| man who picked me up If landed in the
lake, and the nearest man was hurriedly
shouting to me to jump in SO he could get
me, promising to divide thought too
much Of my new tights, however, and
then the professor came up beaming his
congratulations. 1t seems I had really
made star ascension. While had been
studying whether to pull or not to pull,
the chute had followed the balloon out
Of sight and when came down it was a
veritable tumble from the clouds.
Since then l have made hundreds OF
leaps but I have never entirely lost the
feeling of dread my first journey gave me.
The 'chutes In use now open almost at
once after they are cut loose, and man
gets no such nervous shock as the old
| ones with their slow steady openings
gave.
The descent formerly was too rapid
for calculation. and no man could have
the least sensibility Of what was going
on about him. He simply held on and
hoped for the best. If the chute did moi
open he would never feel the impact with
the earth. He would be dead to all feel.
| ing long before he reached it.
| danger? No. not SO very much. If q
man kept his gear in good shape the
| chute always opened. Several times mer
have been killed by failure to do so
but it was because they did not watch
their gear.
The cutting loose was done by a pail
of knives placed like a scissors over the
connecting rope between chute and bag
and If the lever did not work, all a mar
had to do was to wait until the air inside
cooled off and lost its hosting powers
Then the descent was more Derilous, be-
cause of the balloons weight, but moi
much, as the air generally held out unit
the earth was reached"