The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-09-03

Twas 4 Close STRUGGLE WITH DElTH.
thinking i wasn't high enough, kept
On sailing for ten or fifteen minutes
after they fred the revolver. When
/ got high enough / lit the fuse with
my cigar and waited to have the can
non shoot OF.
'sThe cannon Is made OF galvanized
iron, IS twelve feet long and has hole
two feet eight inches in diameter.
me cannon IS attached to the bottom
az tie balloon by two ropes from eSch
end i lie In the cannon dat on my
back Just as II in bed. am incased
IS II in prison. The fuse is ten feet
long and runs from small hole in
front of my face along the bottom
81 the cannon to the mouth. 1t runs
to the mortar or smoking pot This
pot Is Ike a cylinder, and its weight Is
forty pounds.
THE mortar pot rests between my
ankles and has a solid back so that it
cannot shoot back. At my head Is my
parachute, all bundled up. and in one
hand 1 hold knife to cut the rope
which Is attached to the balloon from
the foot Of the cannon. When the as.
4 cension Is successful, and mine was
perfect. the signal is given by means
Of q revolver. light the fuse with a
cigar. After a wait Of about five min
utes this explodes the smoke or mortar
pot. whichever you care to call it The
pot shoots out away from me and into
the air. making smoke and resembling
the shooting OF Of cannon.
'sThen l cut the cut rope. tipping the
cannon and leaving 1t hanging on the
rope which is attached to the cannon
near my head. Then slide out Of the
bottom, feet first the parachute opens
and i sai1 to the ground.
After lit the fuse with my cigar
waited to have the pot shoot of, But
it exploded, and instead of going out
into the air 1t shot right at me, Ny
feet hands and neck were burned, but
/ still kept cool and cut the rope all
right
Il slid out OF the cannon and drop
ped rapidly to The earth. was about
mile in the air and could see water
below me. It must have been under
4 me for about ten minutes. All the
while that l was descending my
q clothes and shoes were burning and,
to make 1t worse, the parachute was
full of holes, made by the explosion
The burns were smarting fiercely, and
my eyes hurt me so much that ]
couldn't see. | landed on the ground.
4 don't know where it was, but do re-
member seeing some logs where trees
a had been cut down.
when landed tore everything
from my body. Ny tights were burn
Ing; and so was the parachute and an
American nag, which had on my
breast. The flag was given to me by
President Mckinley ut the Pau.Amer-
lean exposition at Buffalo.
Hundreds Of people were by me
when | dropped, and they rushed to
ret souvenirs The flag. which looked
as u had gone through bloody battle.
was torn from my body by them. They
tore It into shreds, each taking strip.
SThe parachute was in the same con-
dltion as was tue nag 1t was full Of
i holes and badly burned.
.ETo tell the truth, l don't see how
Il was that the parachute didn't break
when 1t was in the air and send me
flying to death. Some of the boys
wanted 10 put water on me, but others
intertered and said the burns would
hurt an the worse. They carried me
into a house where people by the name
OF Winfield lived This was near the
scene where l fell. The people in the
house were true friends in my time
ot need They did everything possible
f9rsme y 4 -.