The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-10-11

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weight on H. With q lurch she nearly
rlghted. but only for an instant and
then went over again, this time going
farther than before Still / hung on
for dear life, hoping that my weight
would straighten rs up IN a lull, but
the next instant the wind striking the
canvas on the under side, sent Us over.
Just how II happened, or what my
position was, never knew, for I was
In a confusion OF ropes and ribs and
linen In an instant My fright must
have crazed me for n few minutes, al
though I still chung to the ropes
The first thing / can recall after that
was the sense that the wind had blown
the parachute nearly inside out and
the sharp strain had snapped two or
three Of the cords So that now we
were q confused mass Of canvas, rain,
ropes and man. all flying on a tornado
at a terrible rate. and I gasping for
breath; and always the earth was
coming nearer.
l imagined l saw my body after II
should strike the ground or mud, q
shapeless thing of flesh and bones.
The thought sickened me, and I closed
my eyes to shut out the sight Of the
dim earth.
1t is amazing how rapidly a mans
brain will think in such moments.
No sooner had l closed my eyes than !
saw the old homestead in Ohio, look
ing exactly as It did the night left
It, ten years ago. / saw a boy of six
teen cautiously crawling out of sec
ond-story window on to the porch. On
reaching the edge he easily slid down
one of the corner posts and landed on
the ground. Here slipping into his
shoes. he gave one last look at the
house and stole out into the shadows
ard darkness. Just what the next
scene would be cannot say, for was
suddenly twisted in such a way that
nearly all my weight came on one
rope, which instantly snapped and let
one of my feet loose.
This reused me. I seemed to go
down and onward faster than before,
If such thing were possible, looked
down and saw the ground not seven
| ty-five feet below me. The parachute
was flying over It at great speed. Sud
denly the ground seemed to rise up,
for the woods had come underneath
me. Two or three seconds more and
my brains would be- dashed out on
some limb of some neighboring tree.
I jerked my other foot loose, so I
could go down feet first; then shut my
eyes as I breathed a silent prayer,
just as binding flashes lightened
above me. The next moment, amid
the thunder and great, fresh gust Of
rain, something seemed to reach up
at me. There was a crash as 1 met it
and then I became senseless.
When l regained consciousness the
sky was blue above me and the sun
was nearing the horizon in mists Of
great glory. Looking about me I found
l was lying on or in the balloon, which
had been blown against the top of a
large, spreading oak in such a way
that the bag completely covered the
higher branches. On this huge can
Opy l had been flung down, falling
into q sort Of hollow between two
branches, or more likely been shaken
into that hollow by the gale as it bat
tied with the outsnread balloon,
which was much torn in places, and
would probably have been blown
away in shreds had the tornado not
passed so quickly. 1t lasted not twelve
minutes, as I afterward learned. Pos
sibly l might have dropped right
through the stuff, but for the fact that
the oak was greatly overgrown with a
huge grapevine.
AS soon as tried to Chamber out of
that hollow 1 found my right leg was
broken, both bones, right here below
the knee; my left ankle badly
sprained, my right side severely
bruised. and every bone in my body
aching from the great Jar 1 had un
dergone.
For nearly half an hour l lay out
stretched on my airy bed, my hands
still entangled among the ropes, near
er dead than alive; then I heard &
voice shout Here is B. right over this
big oak" and knew a search party
had found the balloon. l shouted then
They were greatly amazed to find me
as well as my apparatus there How
, did they get me down?
But before he had fairly begun t,
explain the process the expected traiI
whistled, the group broke up, and tina
was the last l heard or saw Of TIN