Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-22
POSTPONED FOR A DAY
HIGH WIND RESULTS IN DELAY
ING BALLOON FLIGHT.
Large Throng Of Spectators on Hand
to Witness Ascent-Prospects
for Tomorrow.

Not having any particular business on
the north coast of Africa, the aeronauts.
who were to have made an ascension from
the gas works at 18th and M streets south
east at 10 o'clock this morning, delayed
the trial. 1t Is to take place at the same
time tomorrow. weather conditions being
favorable and the weather bureau says they
will be. 1t was understood from the wealth
er bureau that the conditions would be
favorable this morning, but since Prof. Will
lis Moore sustained a fracture of his arm
last week, the forecasts. it is declared by
some. have not been as accurate as was
possible. There may be no connection be-
tween the fractured arm and the twisted
predictions. but the bureau missed its guess
today to the extent of causing about
thousand people to proceed to the vicinity
of the gas works for nothing.
Yes, it blew some. Also it was cold. The
official thermometer at the weather bureau
recorded only 10 degrees below freezing,
but there was not IN individual of the
crowd who clawed his or her fruitless way
up the hill by the gas works who would
not have vouched for zero weather, with a
leaning to minus quantities.
25-Knot Breeze Blew.
A twenty five-knot breeze blew from tn
northwest. 1t switched around to due nortn
and the air became a little colder. Then it
still. The gas company had made all the
preparations that it could for the event.
There line of eight-inch piping run
out of the window of the gas house and
supported on skids to a vacant lot on the
starboard beam of the gasometer. The lot
was one of the clay bluffs overlooking the
river and had been inclosed with a wire
fence and detail of policemen to keep out
the too curious. In the center of the field
there was a wooden flooring, whence the
initiation n have bpap made Around
it were piled bags of sand to act as ballast.
Everything was ready, even the crowd.
Washington furnished that
1t was more or less like the circus. All
the children wanted to the show and
all the grown people went along merely to
see to it that the children it. There
were marines from the barracks blue jack
cts and policemen, soldiers from the arsenal
and citizens in droves. There probably
were not LOCO there all at one time but
they kept coming and going in a steady
stream. climbing the wind-swept slope of
the hill and drifting down again when they
could stand the cold and waiting no longer
The center of attraction was Mr.. j. c.
Mccoy of New York and Leo Stevens of
aeronautic fame, who was to have accom-
panied him. Courtand Field Bishop of the
Aero Club came over from New York for
the occasion but true to his prediction of
the previous day, the wind was too high
and in the wrong direction. So the trial
could not be made.
Effort to Thaw Out
Mr.. Mccoy and Mr.. Stevens were lost in
trying to find their way to the gas works
and did not appear till 1880 o'clock. When
they did arrive they were unrecognizei
except by Il few of the elect. They took
one look at the field and another at the sky
said everything but the wind was in very
nice shape, and then went over to the gas
house office to thaw out. Mr.. Mccoy said
that he could have made the trip in the
balloon easily enough, but he could not
have held down the bag while it was being
inflated.
The War Department had number of
experts from the balloon corps at the scene,
including Col Reber, Capt. Chandler and
Maj. Russell. The Secretary of War was
expected, but he waited for a telephone
message to start, and was finally told that
the trip was off for the day, so he did not
make the trip
Mr.. William Hart of the gas company
was on hand TO welcome the visitors among
whom. in addition to those mentioned, were
August Post, the secretary of the Aero
Club. Colgate Hoyt and Henry W. Shoe
maker.