The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-18
The BALLOON ABLAZE
AERoNAUT DID GYMNASTICS FIJI
TEEN HUNDRED FEET ABOVE
TERRA FIRMA.
HUNDREDS OF SPECTATORS.
STOOD IN CASINO GROUNDS AND
WATCHED PHILLIPS DARING
DEED.

Balloon Caught as 1t Was About to
Go Up-PhilIiDs Knew Tint 1t Was
Afre Even Before His Feet Were
on Ground, but Refused to Aban-
don the Ascent-Once Satisfied
That Only Bottom of Bag Was
burning He Gave the Matter No
Further COncern-DrOpped and
Made safe Landing After Floating
Some Hall "A Mile.
With tongues of flame licking it's
lower edge the big balloon at the Thun-
derbolt Casino yesterday rushed up
ward fifteen hundred feet with Phil
lips, the aeronaut, clinging to the bar
of the parachute, and doing his gym
nastic stunts while the balloon burned.
After the upward. fight the big bag
struck a current of air that bore it
sidewise toward the city, and after it
had fioated in this direction for some
few minutes Phillips cut loose and
made a safe descent half a mile away
from the Casino The bag was still
afre after he released himself, but as
II turned topsy turvy after being re-
lieved of Phillips weight, the outrush
of smoke put out the flame and the
canvas doubling up and looking very
large and very much soiled, fell into
the woods a little more than half
mile from the place it had started from
on its aerial journey.
Was Not the Programme.
The accident to the balloon was one
that was unavoidable, but it gave the
people, of whom there was more than
a thousand on the ground, chance
to see something that they would not
have seen had everything gone as
smoothly as had been anticipated-a
magnificent piece of nerve on the part
of the aeronaut.
Phillips saw that the bag was on
fire even before he left the ground,
but he would not release the para
chute, and daringly made the ascent,
and coolly did the usual tricks as
though he had gone up under the most
suspicious circumstances, or as though
he were utterly unconscious that the
bag overhead was afire and that there
was fifteen hundred feet of empty
space between him and mother earth.
Carried by "a Brisk Breeze.
The high wind that prevailed in the
vicinity of Thunderbolt. all the after
noon was still quite brisk a few min
utes before I o'clock, when the balloon
was nearly ready to take flight. I'm
der the circumstance much trouble was
experienced in filling the bag at all and
even after it was pretty we'll inflated it
pulled at the guy ropes and bellied in
the wind in d way that made those
most familiar with balloons doubt
whether an ascension could be made at
all.
Phillips was determined to go up,
however and as he had considerable
trouble in getting enough gas in the
bag when he did find enough to make
the trip he Immediately seized the OPP
portunity, and without waiting for the
assistant to turn off the gas machine
he ordered the men to 'let go" and
started up.
Saw the Balloon on Fire.
AS luck would have it, though, a
breeze heeled the bag over the flame
and the lower edges caught. Let
go!" Let co." was shouted to Phil
lips, but he merely glanced up and
seeing that the flame was merely edg-
ing its way around the base of the
bag, he paid no further attention to
the balloon but hanging by his knees
began to fan himself with his cap, then
fiinging that out into space began his
more difficult and dangerous feats on
the bar.
The crowd gazed in wonder at the
mans daring and gasped with sup
pressed excitement every time the
flame burst forth afresh. Phillips paid
no attention to it, however, but con-
tinued his performance long enough
to give the people what he thought
their moneys worth then cut loose
and came down. Altogether it was a
daring piece of work that those who