The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-05-02
FIND bALL0ON|ST DEAD
Paul Nocquet Landed Safe, Then
Lost Himself.
Persisted MlSERABLY IN MARSH

The Mystery OF tho Disappearance Of
the sculptor-Aeronaut Solved When
His Body Was Discovered on a
Sandy Long Island Morass-Walked
and Swan Two Miles.
Babylon, Long 1sland.-The body of
Paul Nocquet, sculptor and aeronaut,
who assembled in his balloon from the
Union Gas Works in the Bronx, New
York City, was found face down, in the
marsh, OH Colts Island, in Bass Creek,
two miles from Amityville. The dar-
ing adventurer was dead from expos
use, after one of the most thrilling
desperate and awe-inspiring struggles
that human creature ever made for life.
His balloon Lad been found early in
the morning on Jones Beach, a sand
strip dividing the bay from the ocean,
but until Il bayman returning to Ami
tyville discovered the body on a strip
of salt grass stubble, half way between
the island and the mainland. no trace
could be found of the %aeronaut.
Nocquet had vainly tried for hours
to make a landing. At last, driven to-
ward the open sea by a cross current,
lie had managed to land just within
the beach line of Jones' Island. Led
on by the deceptive lights of Amity-
vile to the north, which may have
rnn-,~I Loco. 4lo,, n ,,,1n ar-nr. fGNr1nh
the distance is four miles, he tried to
reach the mainland b. swimming from
one to another of the hundreds of low
islands which dot the bay at this point
and form an almost continuous route
to the shore except for the intervening
creeks.
After swimming fifteen creeks and
crossing as many islands his strength
became exhausted, and falling on his
face when he had gained Colt Island,
one of the largest of the group, he died
where he fell.
An autopsy IS expected to show that
death was directly due to heart failure,
brought on ~ the tremendous exertion
of pulling himself through stretches
of heavy mud and by the chill induced
by the repeated dimensions in the icy
water.
Fighting to the last to. reach the
Amityville lights, which must have
seemed 70 recede as he advanced-an
experience familiar to haymen he
flung aside his overcoat after crossing
a dozen islands, but chung TO a life pre-
server, which was found wrapped
about his body.
By +Eose amiliar with the bay it is
estimated that Nocquet must have
struggled through the mud and water
strength finally gave way. The Islands
which he crossed are little more than
mud flats, and many of them lie { low
that they are covered at high tide. The
mud of which they are composed is al
most as treacherous as q%uicksand.
At every sten Nocquet must have
sunk in to his knees or deeper, and to
drag out. his feet, held down by sue
ton as we'll as by the weight Of the
heavy mud, must have taxed his
strength to the utmost. Men who have
made tie attempt tc cross the islands
in this way marveled that re had been
able to cross the two miles to the spot
where he finally fell in complete ex-
haustion.
Why lie did not remain where his
balloon landed on Jones Island, in:
stead Of going t. his death in the mud
fats, can be explained .r!y by the sup
position that the lights Of Amityville
seemed to him so near that to reach
them would be an easy task. He could
not W. e k.iowm that only :. few hun
bred yards fir M where he Landed was
shelter in the Jones Beach life saving
station. 1t was almost 20 o'clock
when he struck tie sand strip ana the
lights in the station b. been extin-
guished.
Paul Nocquet was known both in
this country and abroad is m able por-
trait pairter, a sculptor II rare ability
and an enthusiast on b%allooning. He
was born near Brussels in 1877, and
he died I'll the age of Twenty-Five years
while success as an artist in America
was we'll j h:p his graSp.
1t was NocQuets six 'enth ascension.
The other fifteen ha,. been accom-
plished without a hitch. He was a
member of the Aero Club, Of Paris,
and haC made several cscensions in
France. At one time he planned to
try to cross the Atlantic in a balloon,
but friends persuaded him to give up
thtc FL n 70 -tin iaon