West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1907-08-01

IT wAs A CLosR STRUGGLE WITH DEATH
thinking i wasn't high enough. kept
on sailing for ten or fifteen minutes
after they fired the revolver. when
! got high enough I iit the fuse with
my cigar and waited 10 have the can
non shoot of.
"fbe cannon IL made OF galvanized
iron, is twelve feet long and has n hole
two feet eight inches I'm diameter
The cannon Is attached to the bottom
OF the balloon by two ropes from each
end. l lie In the cannon fiat on my
back just as IL .in bed. am incased
as II In prison. The fuse is ten feet
long and runs from a small hole I'm
front OF my face along the bottom
Of the cannon 20 the mouth. II runs
to the mortar or smoking pot. This
pot is like a cylinder, and its weight IS
forty pounds.
"The mortar pot rests between my
ankles and has solid back so that Il
cannot shoot back. At my head is my
parachute. all bundled up, and in one
hand hold knife TO cut the rope
which is attached to the balloon from
the foot OF the cannon. When the as
censlon In successful, and mine was
perfect. the signal IL given by means
OF revolver. I light the fuse with n
cigar. After wait Of about five min
utes this expiodes the smoke or mortar
pot, whichever you care to call H. The
pot shoots out away from me and into
the air. making smoke and resembling
the shooting of OF a cannon.
''Tben cut the cut rope, tipping the
cannon and leaving it hanging on the
rope which is attached 20 the cannon
near my head. Then slide out OF the
bottom. feet first, the parachute opens
and sail to the ground.
After lit the fuse with my cigar
waited TO have the pot shoot OF. But
II exploded, and instead Of going out
into the air II shot right at me My
feet, hands ana neck were burned, but
! stu kept cool and cut the rope all
right
II slid out OF the cannon and drop.
ped rapidly 20 the earth. I was about
a mile I'm the air and could see water
below me. IL must have been under
me for about ten minutes. All the
while that was descending my
clothes and shoes were burning, and.
to make it worse, the parachute was
full OF holes. made by the explosion
The burns were smarting fercely, and
my eyes hurt me so much that
couldn't see. ! landed on the ground
! don't know where Il was. but do re-
member seeing some logs where trees
had been cut down.
ffNFfTgg. fnuI.g q A.. 80
from my body. My tights were burn
Ing, and so was the parachute and an
American flag which I had on my
breast The flag was given to me by
President Mckinley at the Pan-Amer-
lean exposition at Buffalo.
Hundreds Of people were by me
when ] dropped. and they rushed TO
get souvenirs. The flag. which looked
as if had gone through n bloody battle
was torn from my body by them. They
Tore II into shreds, each taking a strip.
'The parachute was In the same CON
dltion as was the dag. II was full OF
holes and badly burned.
"ro tell the truth. don't see how
u was that the parachute didn't break
when II was IN the air and send me
lying to death. semc Of the boys
wanted To put water on me. but Others
interfered and said the burns would
hurt all the worse. They carried me
into n house where people by the name
OF Winfield lived This was near the
scene where I fell. The people In the
house were true friends In my time
Of need. They did everything possible
for me.
They pat yaselIne. limewater and
sweet OF on my burns 80 a. 70 stop