The San Francisco call., 1906-06-01
TRIP
OF An AER0NAUT
Makes Reckless Flight
From Coney Island
and Is Nearly Killed.
Balloon Drops Into Ja-
maica Bay and Fish
ermen Go to Rescue.

NEW YORK, May 31.-A Tyrolese
aeronaut named wartscher left Coney
Island yesterday in peculiar fashion.
Twenty-Five minutes later. after a
recklessly sensational fight through
the air. ne was picked up unconscious
ana bleeding on Blackhill Marsh. He
was booked to make balloon ascen-
sion at O'Clock In the afternoon. and.
although the wind was blowing sea
ward, he decided to make the attempt.
Most OF the Decoration day population
on the island was on hand TO see the
ascension.
Wartscher's balloon was anchored
with 100 sand bags. which held it in
place. He stood over the work Of in
fiating the great bag with $4,000 feet
of gas, but the gas was found to have
less than the usual buoyaHcy.
When the balloon was full Wartscher
stood in his basket and tossed out sand
bag after sand bag to raise himself
from the ground. The balloon. now
freed from its ropes. rolled from side
TO side with every puff of wind. One
wind flow waited against the tubular
framing of the side. The next breeze
picked the balloon up and dropped il
suddenly from height of twenty feet.
The man in the basket had to do some
spry scrambling to save himself from
bumps.
Finally a favorable puff took the ball
loon up only to subside and drop it
again Waftscher had thrown out his
last sand bag, and now he cut loose his
lifeboat and took a small buoy instead.
Even SO he could not rise. He did not
give up, however. Instead. he twisted
himself into the cordage at the ring
which hangs Just above the basket and
sut loose the basket. which came
crashing down. Wartscher then pulled
off the life preserver and threw 1t
1way.
| Then the balloon began to rise and a
,heer broke from the big crowd. The
balloon was sighted by yachtsmen or
Sheepshead Bay, who started to follow
| t, but were soon distanced. 1t was re-
| ,orted from Bergen Beach. and finally
| msRockaway Beach. Wartscher had
| ct. out some Of his gas and struck q
| lower breeze, which luckily bore him
/ the land. As he approached the
! 1each he tried to land the balloon, but
an upward roll of the air current car
! ried him clear of the narrow land strip
/ barely ten yards above ground, and cut
upon the waters of jamaica Bay. As
he drifted out northward over the bay
watching yachtsmen tumbled into thefi
craft and gave pursuit. But the breeze
was brisk and the balloon distaneeo
them. It's course was erratie and dan
gerous for the aeronait. The balloon
would rise perhaps fifty feet, and ther
plunge down to the water. where il
would strike the waves broadsfde AND
| scatter spray, only to bound up again
like a great elastic ball.
Wartscher had strapped himself Il
| the wooden ring with his leather belt
After awhile the balloon stopped
bounding and rolled along the surface
of the water. with the aeronaut help
less and tangled in the cordage. now
above water and now under
Finally il stranded in the long
grasses of Blackhill Marsh, where three
| fishermen slashed up the silk with their
knives. Under the mass lay the aero
naut. unconscious from the water and
escaping gas. They revived and
clothed him. He was painfully bruised
and is still suffering from the effects OF
the gas.