Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-04-29

AER0NAUT
DYING
John Leonard prince of the
Air" TemptS Fate
Once Too often
Makes Balloon Ascension and
Parachute Drop While
Suffering Intensely
From Fatal Injury

Seattle, April 29.-John Leonard,
who for almost thirty years has
laughed at death while death rode
through midsair beside him, hes in
the Monod hospital today waiting
for his old-time foe to- claim him cap
tive.
prince of the Air" they called this
man; but he dared the dangers of the
air nee too often. The injuries which
he suffered in last Saturdays balloon
ascension at Madison park proved
fatal, and his life will last only a few
more hours.
He lies in a stupor. At times delir.
ium comes owe him, and his vacant
mind wanders to strange countries,
while the fevered lips whisper of
dangers he has braved while the earth
grew small and great crowds faded
into black blurs beneath him.
Leonard had grown so accustomed
to deaths presence that he forgot it.
Ever since his father, who was an
%aeronaut, took him, a little boy, into
the wicker basket and his eyes grew
big with wonder as he saw the world
slip swiftly downward, he has ridden
to the clouds with the specter always
beside him.
Sometimes they came close to-
gether, these two, and it seemed as
though the man would laugh at his
old enemy no more. Once at Lead.
vile the balloon caught fire, and shot
flaming upward with Leonard hang.
Ing grimly to the trapeze. The ropes
began to burn. The frail support
sagged. Leonard was 200 feet from
the earth. To cut loose meant to be
dashed to pieces, for the parachute
could not open in the distance. In an
other moment the last strand would
be gone. The man climbed up to the
the blazing canvas bag that twisted
and rolled and belched out black
smoke as 1t shot upward. He clam.
bered on through the rope netting,
and as he did so he put out the flames.
Finally the great bag turned over,
and then sank slowly toward the
earth, Topping like a great bird, and
bearing the man, half s~mothered, in
its bellying folds.
That was n instance out of many
where Leonard looked into deaths
face and laughed. He wandered dur.
ing his life into all parts of the earth.
He made balloon ascensions for Hin.
doc princes. He saw Egypt's pyra.
mids dwindle away below him into
bits of stone while the Nile became
a silver thread in the yellow sand.
The man came to Seattle last fall.
He was employed a short time ago by
the Seattle Electric company to make
a series of a~scensions at Madison
park. When the balloon shot into the
air last Sunday afternoon for the first
OF these II dashed Leonard against a
big plank windbreak. With the splin.
tered bones protruding through the
torn flesh Leonard hung to his trap
eze.
He had to reach aheight OF eight
hundred feet before he could let
go his parachute. The trapez
swung and jerkel as gusts of wind
caught the balloon. Every movement
mcked his broken limb. His head
swan and pains in his body turned
him weak and sick, The earth had
never left him so slowly. He hung
to the slender bar with the tenacity
OF desperation.
Little by little the buildings grew
into colored blocks and the irregular
outlines of the lake revealed them.
selves, until at last he saw beneath
him a long irregular strip OF blue;
and then he knew he was high enough
for safety. He pulled the cord and
dropped. !
He swept down with sickening
speed; then stopped with an awful
Jerk that sent new streams OF pain
through his body and limbs. He sank
slowly earthward. and as he did he
heard a murmur that grew to a long
shout from the crowd by the lake
shore.
They picked him up when he
alighted, and took him TO the Monod
hospital. Last night he began TO
sink Today he lies unconscious. It
is only a matter OF hours before death
takoa him