New-York tribune., 1906-04-05
N0CQUET'S BODY FOUND.
Continued from FIRST page

last night emphasized the fact that the sculptor
his death. not through his balloon. but by appar-
entity losing his head. after making most success
ful descent All the dangers he encountered. which
LED to his death. were after he had made ascent
that could not have been made better by an old
and tried aeronaut
Count de la vaulx. NJ Levee. Cortlandt Field
bishop and Augustus Post went the initial
scene OF the tragedy yesterday. making a minute
inspection OF every inch of the ground from where
the balloon first landed to where Nocquets steps
ended in the marshes two miles away.
The outer fringe Of islands forming the beaches
o: Great South Bay stretch for miles. broken by
various inlets, the largest Of which Fire Island
Inlet Further west is Gilgoe's and then Jones's.
At Joness Inlet is q station of the beach patrol.
one OF the patrol passed the point where the ball
loon landed. half a mile from the station. at
p m. but did not see anything. An hour later.
on his return trip. he saw the balloon with its
overturned basket. but failed to report. MY
business is with the ships on the sea. and not
these that dropped from the Clouds" was his ex-
plantation to his captain later
COULD HAVE CROSSED BAY.
The Aero Club was told early in the day that the
observer at Fire Island had seen the balloon drop
10 the sand. about two hundred feet from the
surf, just as the set. The investigation of
Mr.. Bishops party showed that this was true
Ten yards from the water mark they found where
the drag rope had cut deeply into the sand Scat
leINu All IOunu was lh6 RED loan which NOeOuet
had carried ballast. A little further on was
the car. tipped on its side
Everything in it intact, and a newspaper
lay folded in the basket. covering an empty Sau-
terne bottle. The most significant thing how
ever that four bags Of ballast remained at
tached 10 the car Had these been dropped Noe
/ quet could have crossed easily to the mainland
only Eve OF six miles away The parachute had
not been used and the gas had been released by
1 the rip cord
From the basket the party trailed Mr.. Nocduet's
footprints until they lost in the marsh grass
The trail showed the mental condition Of the aero
naut Here and there the footprints were close to-
gether. where he had walked slowly gaining breath
for sharp. furious dash until his strength failed
| him again. Here and there marks were plainiy
distinguishable where he had stood and scooped up
| handfuls Of sand, TO see whether he was stil on
dry ground, or else had stumbled and grovelled on
/ the ground in terror
After taking affidavits from everybody that in
| any way knew of Nocquet's landing the party re-
turned TO this city learn that the body had been
! found. Mr.. Bishop found q bayInan living on Gilgo
Island, named Purdy, who says that he heard some
| one crying out about 10 o'clock Somewhat
later he heard the voice again. but did not nav any
attention 10 It, thinking it some beated duck hunter
| returning home
| Those who visited the scene cannot understand
| Nocquets movements. after landing so successfully
! He approached the island from the southwest.
| drifting toward the mainland on a gentle braazA
| he had with him. If dropped would have allowed a
| safe passage over Great South Bay. The count
also says that it is the custom of balIoonists when
they land on strange territory at night to sleep in
the haskell of the balloon until daylight gives them
| an opportunity TO explore the country safely
| The lights of AmityvfIe are plainly visible Fron,
the north shore of GIgo Island. A quarter OF a
mile TO the eastward there was a clump OF huts
| which would have afforded him shelter while the
lights Of the station OF the patrol at Jones
TWlaN
the sand dunes
Instead OF going TO any OF these places Of refuge
! he took the course which would lead furthest
from civilization Running and stumbling swim
! ming creeks and inlets he madly hurried on, until
he fell dead from exhaustion. That he died from
exhaustion or heart disease or both is the opinion
held by members of the club. Dr. Julian P Thomas
and Israel Ludlow went down to Amityville late
last night TO be present at the autopsy settle
the cause OF death beyond dispute
That NOcquet intended TO be back IN this city in
a few days was evident by several appointments
| which he had made. One OF these was with Israel
Ludlow TO go up in the balloon with him next Satur
! day. Mr.. Ludlow was invited 10 go with him on
his first trip but the invitation reached him toe
late IN the afternoon to be accepted.
TOOK NO INSTRUMENTS
| Nocquet took with him none OF the instruments
| which are considered Indispensable by aeronauts-
| neither anchor. statosoope nor barometer. The
| only preparation he had made TO tell whether he
! was going up down carry some small
| scraps Of paper and small flags. Trapeze jumpers
are the only who use these primitive
| methods. according TO De Ia vaulx The scraps OF
paper are thrown out IN the air 10 show the prog
ress Of the balloon but strong wind makes them
useless
| Leo Stevens had just returned from Union Hill
N J.. whore he is building Major NIiTers airshp.
at 10 O'Clock last night. when a Tribune reporter
| told him of NocQuet's death. Leo Stevens said:
| Nocquet ambitious and wanted to make a
record Although modest, he told me, several days
ago, that he would show the Aero Club what an
| ascent was
! was the last man 10 grasp his hand balanced
him. The last I saw OF him at altitude of
$500 feet and eight miles from the starting point
| About o'clock noticed him throwing out
ballast. I told him not 10 try 70 go too high
He might have alighted before dark, there
! were plenty OF landing places. A proper use Of
| ballast would have permitted him TO remain up all
night.
According TO his friend Gutzon Borg1um. the
| artist NocQuet made his trip test pet theory
of his concerning the air currents around New
| York Mr. Borgiu1n says that Nocquet believed
that II per cent OF the winds hereabOut were
/ Iandward while only % per cent blew seaward
| wind returning landward with the tide would bring
him back to land again
PAUL NOCQUET"S CAREER.