The Minneapolis journal., 1903-03-27
SPORTS
PERIL OF AERONAUT.
Interesting Anecdotes Of old-Time
Parachute Jumpers-Ed Ho-i
gan the Pioneer.
Narrow Escape from Wrath of Ma
y. tives at Honolulu-Scores of
h Aeronauts Drowned.

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Aeronauts Drowned.
Since balloon ascensions and parachute
drops have become an essential feature OF
state and county fairs, and parachute
jumpers can be hired for trif1ing sums,
blase public mas ceased to regard such
performances with any great degree of
interest. Fifteen years ago, however, the
aeronaut was person of consequences
and large sums were necessary to induce
him to make an ascent r,
Il remember as though it were yester-
day" said George Spears, the. billiard
player. recently, "the day that Ed Hogan
made the first parachute drop at Jackson,
Mich. Hogan was pioneer among aerOn-
auts. man absolutely without fear, he
1alrly outclassed the jumpers Of late years
He considered it beneath his dignity to go
up sitting on trapeze He made the as
cent hanging by hands, knees, heels or the
pack OF his head to a pair Of rings, and
some OF his acrobatic performances in
midair surpassed those of first-class men
who accomplish their feats few yards
from the ground, and with a safety net
spread beneath them.
Hogan had a proper idea of the value
of his services, too He never made an
ascension unless he saw $1,000 counted
man to make the drop for $40 or $50.
Story Of the First Parachute Drop.
Il was strollng along the streets ofJack-
son one spring morning not more than
twelve or fifteen years ago, when I saw
balloon rising slowly above the tree
tops. The aeronaut was going through
. his turns upon the rings, and big crowd
followed him out into the country. Sud-
denly he fell like a streak, and the hum
dreds watched breathless to see him strike
the ground and be dashed into fragments.
Then all at once big unbrela-like affair
opened out above him and he came float :
Ing slowly down, landing safely in g. field
some moments after his balloon had
touched the earth.
That I think. was the first parachute
drop ever made. and sprung suddenly upon
a crowd which had no knowledge Of what
1T was to see you can imagine the sensa-
tion 1t made. Hogans fortune was mads
from that time, and he drew big money
for easy work for several years. Once
he made an ascent in a, gas balloon. with
a wagon instead of a. basket 1t was
scheme to advertise a. certain make of
wagon. The affair was a dummy, of
course. constructed as light as possible
with scarcely a. bit Of iron about it. but it
looked like the real thing from a little
distance. and the trip made quite a hit
Hogan was in the air for nearly a week
that time: he always claimed that it was
the longest balloon trip in point of time,
ever made. When his gas began to give
out, he commenced throwing off parts of
the wagon; now wheel, now the tongue
until he got down to the bare box. Then
he cast that off and clung to the ropes
until there was not enough gas in the bag
to hold his weight up.
How Jack Hogan Met Death.
Ed Hogan was lost, presumably by
drowning. when making a trial trip in an
airship at Long Island He was never
seen from the time the ship made It's
ascent until this day, and it has always
been supposed that he was blown out
over the ocean and finally came down in
mid-se Jack Hogan, his brother then
tried to pick up a little Of the good money
Ed had been making. Jack was a CHM
ney sweep, and. like Ed, a. man without
knowledge Of fear. He had assisted his
brother in his ascensions, and knew a
good deal about the management of a bal
loon. SO that, being an all-around athlete,
he saw no danger in the ascent. Jack
was killed, however, in his second ascen-
sion.
"Ee went up, like Ed, hanging to the
rings. with the ropes of his parachute
tiedto the ropes from which hung the
rings. He waited a little too long be-
fore casting off, however and found for
some reason that he had not strength
enough left to pull himself up and get hol6
for some time. and finally let go one ring
and made a grab for the parachute bar
His one hand could not stand the strain
he lost hold of the second ring, ant
dropped Hike a stone, the impact Of hi!
fall crushing his body into a shapeles!
mass of flesh when he struck the ground
will Hogan, the third Of the family, il
still living, and has made numberless as
tensions. He has had dozen ribs ant
several other bones broken during various
ascents, but he is hearty and strong to
day. at the age Of so.
1T is curious fact that dozens o
aeronauts have lost their lives becaus
they did not know how to swim. An ex
perienced parachute man can pick hi
place to alight, getting away from ba
places by swinging himself backward o
forward. A green hand, however, vii
often come down in a lake or stream, an
sometimes the parachute drops on him
smotherng him in it's folds, and forcin
him down under the water. remembe
the case of a man who was drowned i
four feet of water in a little lake nea
Jackson some years ago. The parachut
him under water Even then, had h
been used to the water, he might hav
dived out under it's folds
Sam Ellis Narrow Escape.
Il remember two occasions when L ha
narrow escapes from death in connectio
with balloons said Sam Ellis, the vet
eran Snowman. "In 1875 I was maxim
daily ascents with Will Donaldson at Chi
cago in connection with Barnum's circus
One day a. newspaper man named Grim
shaw wanted to make the ascent wit
Donaldson, and as there was not rool
for three in the car, stayed on tf
ground that day. Donaldson and Grin
shaw have never been heard of sine
They probably were blown out over tt
lake and drowned.
'The other time stayed on the groun
too, but came very near death, nevertht
4 less: 1t was in Honolulu, before the,
were many whites on the island. I WE
managing Frank Hawlye, who was NAL
Ing a tour Of the world with his balloo
He made an ascent at Honolulu; can
down in the harbor, and was eaten
sharks before he could get a boat to hir
The natives thought the rest of us WEI
responsible for his death, and we can
fO the IJou &c