New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-05-22

ONE HIS N4RROW ESCAPE.
Strikes Chimney - Both Descend
Near Midnight.


Two balloons assembled from this city yester-
day. Stirred to emulation by the cheers that
attended the ascent OF DIR. Julian p. Thomas in
, bia new balloon. Nirvana, oskar Haendler, OF
Fyobol,en also made an ascension two hours
later from the gas plant in East l5sfh street.
T4e brought with him from Hoboken his friend
charles Fuchs, whose wife going to make
tbo trim with him. Mrs. Fuchs backed out, how
ever and her place was taken by Stephen J.
Chalmers, local poet and newspaper man. just
as EEaendler's balloon cleared the ground ~
dashed into an iron chimney, and both occupants
were nearly thrown to the ground. The pag
rebounded from the guy ropes OF the siloAN.
stack and rose clear, as Chalmers dumped ous
couule Of bags of ballast, without waiting for
orders. So.
Dr Thomas landed at PoughlSeepsie after a
voyage full Of incident, including a race with
steam yacht, in which the NirVana won eas'e'
Just after they landed farmer VINO went -
their assistance had a narrow escape from
serious injury, If not death.
The balloon landed at S:13 o'clock on the farm
of WILDER Crest. The springs of the safety ValVe'
being new ana stiff, refused to work properly
and when the aerOnaut got out OF the BASKET
Crest, who was holding on to the net became
tangled in its meshes. Relieved Of the weight
of the two aeronauts the balloon shot up twenty
or thirty feet. Crest was carried head down for
over a hundred feet before DR.. Thomas ana
Ievee could pull the balloon down far enough
to release him.
After circling out over the Sound. the balloon.
swinging back crossed Morris Park. scarcely
more than twenty feet above the ground, Dr.
Thomas exchanging greetings with hundreds OF
persons there and in Yonkers. They crossed the
Hudson at the point where Leo Stevens was
flung from his balloon when it was dashed
against the Palisades week ago.
AS the balloon was recrossing the river a
steamer yacht. apparently thinking the men were
in danger. swung toward them. When the crew
saw the balloon was in no danger a race began
which ended in the inglorious rOut of the yacht.
Before the balloon came to Poughkeepsie it
crossed and recrossed the river six times.
A disagreeable part Of the trip was the con-
slant dropping Of water from the envelope OF
the balloon This came from the gas, which
was disappOintingly poor and was the cause Of
DR.. Thomas descending so early. 1t became so
cold before Poughkeepsie was reached that ice
began to form the inside Of the balloon, so
1t thought wiser to descend.
Haendler's balloon came down at Ardsley-
on-the- Hudson about IL o'clock. after having
reached an altitude Of 1,15O metres. While over
| the Sound Chalmers and Haendler were near
enough to the steamers to talk with their pas
sengers They crossed Westchester County,
sometimes more than three thousand feet in
the air and at other times near enough to talk
to persons. They landed a private estate
in ArdsIey, and later entertained by mem
bers Of the Ardsley Club
At midnight word came that Dr. Thomas had
landed safely at Peekskill
DR.. Thomas did not get away until quarter
before o'clock Before the basket was at
tached TO the balloon the airship was named.
with appropriate ceremonies, by Mrs. Willard
Irving Twombley. of No. 723 West End avenue.
Mrs. Twombley flung glass Of champagne over
the basket saying:
with this 1 christen thee Nirvana." Then
the others emptied their glasses. but not into
the basket.
NJ Levee, the French aeronaut, was Dr..
Thomas's pilot The balloon which holds $1,000
cubic feet Of gas. filled the big net without a
wrinkle in it's surface DIR. Thomass chauffeur,
who followed him in an automobile, had five
bail bonds, all signed and ready for use in case
of arrest for speeding.
AS soon as Dr. Thomas got away. Haendler
got his balloon the Eros. ready. 1t was much
smaller, holding only little over 10000 feet of
gas 1t quickly filled. Mrs. Fuchs. as the
began to get close TO the horizon, got nervous.
At this point Chalmers approached her and
described, in his own graphic manner, the perils
of ballooning. Finally he volunteered to take
her place, which offer she accepted gratefully.
Haendler wanted S25 because OF the change
of plan. and Chalmers had not got it. Finally
Haendler accepted note for that amount. in
dorsed by ex-Coroner w. ]. OGorman and all
the newspaper men present The coroner him
self offered $50 to go on the trip. Haendler took
one look at the proportions of the ex-cOroner
and gasped "Mein Colt! No. This ISIS only
Ieetle paloon." :.
When the balloon was cast loose, after some
sandwiches and bottle of whiskey had been
passed on board, it nearly hit a low wOrkshed
a few feet away. About sixty pounds of sand
was thrown out hastily, the greater part land
ing in the eyes or going down the backs Of the
crowd Immediately beneath 1t cleared the shed
and then bore down a tall SmOkeStack a
score of yards away. Before more ballast could
be dropped 1t crashed into the tall iron pipe
and bounded back, leaving the stack shaking
like tree in a storm. A vagFant puff of wind
made the balloon sheer off to one side as Chal-
meTs threw out two more bags of ballast. and
the balloon finally shot off and upward over ell
most the identical course covered by the Mir