The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-05-25

the machine fell and hundreds of pairs
OF hands were quickly engaged exc
tracing the injured. One of the first
to be taken out was the inventor.
The List of Injured.
The full list OF injured follows:
]. A. Morrill,, inventor of the Nor
rill airship. caught inside the rigging
and crushed by one of the propellers,
legs broken, dangerously injured.
C. c. Triple. San Francisco, engin-
eer engine No. 4. crushed by his en-
CINE.
Justin Barber, commercial photo
grapher. Berkeley. ribs broken, inter-
nally injured.
W Tyson. valve tender. San Fran
cisco, jumped when car was within
fifty feet Of the ground, internally in
jured. 81.
E. G. C. Wallin. newspaper photo
grapher, San Francisco, badly lacer-
ated, probably Internally injured;
jumped before car reached ground.
severely but not dangerously injured.
H. Miller, valve tender, cut and
bruised.
John Burns, riding on top of gas
bag, bruised and lacerated. ..
Charles p. Hall, commercial photo
grapher. riding in forward network,
internally injured.
John Peterson, assistant to Hall.
bruised and lacerated, not dangerous
" y. r Juno, engineer second eI&lIes
cut and bruised. not dangerous.
John Ahearn. engineer engine No.
| 8, injuries not dangerous. a'@s. -
w. Mowrey, engineer No. 5. 'slight-
ly injured. -e744s n
Captain Tenfold, Australian aero
naut, crushed. legs broken and dam
gerously injured by engine.
j. v. Rodgers. assistant engineer,
internal injuries. probably die.
c.. A. Nelson. cut about head. dan
gerously injured.
Lost Their Heads.
The accident was a spectacular and
sensational one, probably 10000 people
from Berkeley and Oakland having
gathered around the big vacant lot
wherein the great caterpillar-shaped
mating gas. The stay ropes were cut
and the airship rose slowly from the
earth. The five gasoline engines sus-
pended beneath the big bag at inter-
by an engineer. were not put in opera
ton until well up into the air, when
two of them slowly set in motion the
long propellerS reaching out from their
sides. The engines were suspended in
dependent of each other and the weight
did not appear to be equalized for be-
fore the ship could be propelled further
than a few feet the forward end tilted.
downward and the air ship stood at an
single for As degrees, suspended In the
air. The engineers and the other menu
bers of the crew seemed to lose their
heads and instead Of running along the
canvas pathway in order to equalize
the weight and to right the airship,
they chung desperately to the netting
and frail superstructure, the rush of
the gas to the stern end of the long
afrship and the tremendous weight OF
engines and crew causing the none too
substantial envelope to burst with
loud, ripping noise. The release Of =
great quantity Of gas allowed thA aixs1
ship to settle slowly toward the eqet1
and for few moments 1t looked A9s4 ie
would come down slow enough to avoie
any injury to the is ment. Some oe
them, however. lost their heads before
the big machine could reach the ground
and jumped. These escaped with bro
ken limbs or severe bruises. Nearing
the earth, however, the gas: escaped
with a rush and allowed the engines
and the big bag to come down with
great force. Morrill,, the inventor Of the
craft, and several of the engineers were
thus caught and injured by the en-
zines.