Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-16
MAN AND TIGER
DROP FROM SKY
BALLOON ACCIDENT CAUSES
WILD PANIC
RICHMOND CROWD WITNESSES
THRILLING DROP
Gas Bag Bursts Into Flames High In
Air, and Aeronaus and Beast
Descend Together Head
First
Especial to The Herald. ]

RICHMOND. N. Y, Sept. 15.--Neariy
$1,000 persons, many of them children,
at the Richmond county fair, stood in
the fair grounds at Dongan Hills. S.
L, where young William CODY, in span
giles and tights, sat, smiling and bow
ing on trapeze attached to balloon
which slowly rose above the heads of
the crowd. The young trapezist had
one arm around a pet tiger cub. which
he supported on the trapeze, and which
with him was soon to drop in q thrill
ing dive with parachute.
Children shouted in delight, and men
and women waved hats or handker-
chiefs at the athlete. Suddenly from
somewhere in the crowd there arose a
cry. Instantly it was taken up by
others, and presently the multitude
We're shouting to the trapezist:
Look outi Your balloons on flrel"
CODY, looking downward, had not
seen a spiral of flame which caught the
eye of someone in the crowd as 1t ate
its way around one of the hempen
supports which attached the trapeze
to the balloon. He was nearly 100 feet
in the air, but perhaps the voices of
dhe crowd reached his ears. At any
rate he turned his eyes upward.
Instant Too Late
Then ne leaped into activity. He
tried to free his parachute and pre-
pare for the leap which would enable
him to float easily to the ground. But
he was an instant too late, however,
Eefore he could free the parachute the
bar on which he stood working at the
ropes with nervous fingers dropped
from the supporting balloon.
A cry of horror arose from the crowd
as Coby's figure whirled downward,
spinning over and over in the air. Be-
side him In the downward dive shot
the tiger cub, its paws and tail thrash
ing around in the air.
1t was only few seconds before
Cobv and his tiger cub struck the turf
on the inside of the race track course
from which they had assembled. In
stantly the crowd pressed forward. But
suddenly men and women, dragging
children by the hands or carrying them
in their arms, turned back in a wild
panic and fled toward the grandstand,
opposite which the balloon ascension
had been made.
''The tigeri Look out for the tiger!"
was the cry that went up.
apparently uninjured by its fall the
tiger cub made for the crowd In long
ACdpS. AllHDuSn the cTOWQ ulQ not
know it, the animals only object APP
parently was to gain the shelter of the
tent used to house the balloon. Once
within the tent it lay whimpering in
terror.
Man Badly Hurt
CODY was carried to his dressing tent
and there DIR. Mord from the Smith
infirmary looked him over. He found
that the man had received internal in
Juries and severe concussion of the
spine, and advised his immediate re-
movaI to the infirmary. He was taken
there in an ambulance.
CODY Is only IS years old, and lives
at 903 Bremen street, Milwaukee. He
is a professional balloonist and para
chute jumper, and had been exhibiting
daily at the fair since its opening.
The police arrested his manager.
Frank Robinson, later, asserting that
he had not used proper precaution in
seeing to 1t that the balloon and its APP
paratus were in proper shape before
permitting the ascent. Robinson was
bailed out by the officials of the fair.
The balloon dropped near by, and was
found to be only slightly damaged.
Robinson wanted to reinhate 1t and
make an ascent himself, but this was
not allowed
Samuel Haber of 200 Spring street,
Manhattan, got a fractured kneecap In
the excitement following the fall of
CODY and the tiger cub. He was run
ming from the animal when he fell.
He, also, was taken to the infirmary