The daily Alaskan., 1908-08-25
IA FRIGHT IN MIDAIR
Going Up In a Balloon and Com
 ing Down In a Parachute.
THE AGONY OF A FIRST TRIP

Experience and Sensations of an Ae-
 robat Who Took the Place of Pro-
 fossional Aeronaut In an Emergency.
 Tho Dash Through Space.
 once went up in a balloon and came down in parachute Something went wrong, and all the money in the world doubled would not induce me to make the experiment again,
 One grows strangely accustomed Co dangers as an acrobat and when it was suggested that should earn $2j In as many minutes by taking the place of a parachutIst who had fallen il at the last minute jumped at the chance.
 It was at a large country fair, The laughing crowd had probably never seen a balloon go up. AS the great silk bag gradually swcllcd silence fell upon the onloobers.
 The sick purachutists manager pat ted me on the back and said 1t was money easily earned. l agrecl-thcn.
 Keep cool, he said, and whatever you do, don't look down except to judge your distance from the earth You see that tower? 1t Is about a thousand yards away When you are that distance up pull the check string and shut your eyes"
 A dull murmur rose as the ropes were cast ofr and | felt my feet leave the ground. The upward movement was gentle, and a great cheer came up to me until the band drowned it.
 I hardly heard the cheering or the band. The involuntary murmur sti.l rang in my ears. Perhaps my nerves were upset possibly 1t was intuition but from the moment was drawn ug from the ground felt the conviction har gn,m trouble lay ahead.
 .uuurng the oft repeated usCrun. l1us. looked down How slowly the ,alnou went up. Could it bc possible rat Gad not gone muE than a hu0 rcd yprGs: The ~giHut overhead hc Hme living thing. Intent on toruw
 0ho n-g mortal who had trusted ts life Go |, knew ! darcl not leap .e,r, wls high enough. for the par
 huJc takes loo feet sometimes to r2T.
 s'nI wt eyes and lgjel to count to ."' D'wr lur the g-urcs became jun at nd looked down again. \ .HYy $ jmmod past underneath 'r below lhrrc was sea or upuwcd
 rs aul .he music Goatcl mp dis n .Iy The balloon seemed Co have topped rising, and for am eternity .fcI t" gIugc the height
 Again tlr band stopped. and l was 3 a silent world The crowd of npathlrss spccks far beneath was get Ing full value for its money. The uIy noise l heard was the beating of ac blood through my head. I was ,rwld It was the first real fear had nrr felt in my work.
 Vixen the supreme moment came lIcd the string without realizing what | Was doing
 What, years lived Iu those next "w seconds. An appalling nausea and
 will desire Co live came with the ss, terrible rush. and my heart stood
 rl us looked eagerly uluft The uprs of tGc parachute had twisted 'ud was failing Co Instant dyalh Q Cmspng the ropes In a clutch of rnrl shook them funuu'y Half nr huge parachute hclllei ont with a noise like pistol shot and the speed pr the fall was lcSscucl with a iar
 Again l shook the death trap. The ropes were sliding at a suoil's pace nd hlt by bit the parachute was open rg Su'l-I fell far too fast. could lot breathe. and my hands seemed to rr refusing Co hold ou
 Bang. The last fold had opened out tud was saved. Dizzy and numb with roaE held on tightly. wonder ing whether should faint before l touched the ground That, and that u,y. was my thought as | sailed trough the space. | had almost lost consciousness when my feet touched .hc ground gently And then I col npScd. Buffalo Times