Evening star., 1901-08-08
Aeronaut Nearly Loses His Life in
Balloon Trip Today.
N. DEUrSCH saw THE PERFORMANCE
Air Ship Collapsed After Turning
the Eiffel Tower.
DUMONT NOT DISCOURAGED

PARIS, August 8.-M. Santos Dumont,
the aeronaut, this morning again attempt
ed to circle Eiffel tower He succeeded in
rounding the tower with difficulty The
balloon was then unable to make headway
against strong winds and fell near house
in the vicinity, remaining suspended for
some time. Nj. Santos Dumont was not in
jured.
Santos Dumont started from the Pare de
st. Cloud at 6:10 am. amid hearty cheers.
His initial movements were promising, as
the balloon turned around Eiffel Tower
nine minutes and thirty-four seconds after
starting and reheaded for ST. Cloud Just
over the Avenae Henri Marion, however,
strong gust of wind struck the aerostat,
which veered violently to one side, almost
simultaneously bounding backward a dis
tance of fifty yards. The hydrogen gas
was forced from the front to the back part
of the balloon, creating a sudden expan-
sion, which caused the machine to dip. Her
screw touched the steel cords and broke
them. NJ Santos Dumont Immediately
stopped the motor and the balloon began
to descend. Unfortunately the cover of the
aerostat struck the corner of a six-story
building. report like the shot of can
non followed. The balloon collapsed and
fell rapidly. Luckily the frame caught on
the coping of the building and the balloon
remained suspended, otherwise Santos Du-
mont would nave been killed.
Hung in Dangerous Place.
AS it was the aeronaut hung in a most
dangerous position in midair for half an
hour, until by a great effort he succeeded
in catching the iron bar of window, to
which he chung until rescued with some
difficulty by the use Of ropes. The balloon
lSt escaped without a scratch however.
The explosion of the balloon attracted
enormous crowds, and the reception Of NJ.
Santos Dumont upon reaching the street
was most enthusiastic, many ladies cling
ing to his neck and kissing him repeatedly.
AS NJ. Santos Dumont superintended the
removal of the machine he said he was
quite ready to recommence operations.
NJ DeutSch, who offered the prize of 10O,-
600 francs for the rounding of Eiffel tower
and the return to the starting point within
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 ex-
periments, but the balloonst replied that
period Of time that he considered the re-
suit too satisfactorily to permit the relin-
quishment of his attempts in the future.
Not the Motors Fault.
M. Santos-Dumont gave the following ac-
count of his trip:
This time it is not the fault Of the mo-
tor, which worked admirably. 1t was the
balloon which caused the accident. I
rounded the Eiffel tower with admirable
speed, as 1 had favorable wind. and was
already returning over the Bois de Bou-
logne when the wind freShened suddenly
and struck me sideways. Like a ship in
storm the balloon pitched and rolled, now
and then recovering it's normal position
Another sudden veering of the wind caused
the front of the balloon to pitch downward
and the ropes connecting it with the frame
caught in the propeller, which struck the
balloon wires. They broke. l saw the dan
ger, and my only thought was to descend
as quickly as possible. This I was doing
successfully, but l was driven by con-
trary wind in the direction of the Eiffel
tower Again the breeze veered and threw
me against a building. The balloon burst
like a toy gas balloon and the fragments
fell, completely covering me. The rest you
know. l am unhurt. l 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 repairing the bal
loon. 1t is simply a matter of sewing the
pieces together.
''The cause of the accident was that the
balloon was insuficiently filled. 1 knew
this. The ventilator also worked badly"
M. Deutsch who was present at the start,
in an interview said:
II am afraid the experiments will not be
conclusive, as his balloon will always be at
the mercy of the wind, which is not the
kind Of airship we have dreamed Of"