Frostburg mining journal., 1908-09-12
A FRIGHT IN M|DA|R
Going Up In Balloon and Com
i.:J Down In a Parachute.
THE AGONY CT A FIRST TRIP
Experience and Sensations of an Ae-
robat Who Took the Place Of Pro-
fessonal Aeronaut In an Emergency.
The Dash Through Space.

once went up in Il balloon and
came down in Il 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 TO
dangers rs an acrobat, and when it
was suggested that | should earn $25
in as many minutes by taking the place
! of parachutist who had fallen i'll at
the last minute | jumped at the chance.
1t was at large country fair. The
laughing crowd had probably never
seen balloon 90 up. AS the great
silk bag gradually swelled a silence
fell upon the onloOkcrs
The sick parachutists manager pat
ted me on the back and said it was
money easily earned. agrced-then.
Keep COOL" he said, "and. whatever
you Go, 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"
\ dull murmur rose as the ropes We're
cast off 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.
l hardly heard the cheering or the
band. The Involuntary murmur still
rang in my ears. Perhaps my nerves
were upset, possibly it was intuition,
but from the moment | was drawn up
from the ground | felt the conviction
that grim trouble lay ahead.
Ignoring the oft repeated instruc-
tions, | looked down. How slowly the
balloon went up. Could it be possible
that | had not gone more than a hun
drcd yards? The giant overhead be
came Il living thing. intent on tortur-
ing the puny mortal who had trusted
his life to it. | knew | dared not leap
before | was high enough for the par
achute takes 100 feet sometimes to
open.
| shut my eyes and tried to count to
I kill time, but the figures became jun
bled. and l looked down again. A
swallow skinned past underneath.
| Far below there was Il sea of upturned
faces and the music tloated up dis
tinctly. The balloon seemed to have
stopped rising, and for an eternity
tried to gauge the height
Again the band stopped, and l was
in silent world. The crowd of
breathleSs specks far beneath was get
ting full value for its money The
only noise | heard WAS the beating Of
the blood through my head. was
afraid. 1t WAS the first real fear | haG
ever felt in my work.
When the supreme moment came |
pulled the string without realizing
| what | was doing
What years | lived in those next
| few seconds. An appalling nausea and
Il wild desire To live came with tn"
first terrible rush. and my heart stood
still as | looked eagerly nIoft. The
ropes of the parachute had twisted.
and | was falling 80 instant death.
| Grasping the ropes in Il clutch of
steel, shook them frantically. Half
/ the huge parachute hcllied out with Il
noise like Il pistol shot. and the speed
/ of the fall was lrSSrncd with Il jar.
/ Again | shook the death trap. The
ropes were sliding ut Il snai's pace
and bit by bit the parachute was open
/ ing. Still fell far too fast. | could
not breathe, and my hands seemed to
be refusing to hold on.
Bang. The last fold had opened out,
and | was saved. Dizzy and numb
with fear. | held on tightly, wonder
ing whether ! should faint before |
touched the ground. That and that
only, was my thought as | sailed
I through the space. had almost lost
consciousness when my feet touched
the ground gently. And then l col
| lapsed.-BuffalO Times.