Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1908-12-02
A FRIGHT IN hlIDAIR
Going Up In Balloon and Com
ing Down In a Parachute.
THE AGONY OF A FIRST TRIP
Experience and Sensations of an Ae-
rohst Who Took the Place of Pro-
sessionsl Asronaut In an Emergency.
The Dash Through Space.

once went up in n balloon and
came down Ia 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 as an acrobat, and when II
was suggested that I should earn SD
In as many minutes by taking the place
or parachutist who had fallen m at
the last minute jumped ut the chance.
IL was at n large country fair The
laughing crowd had probably never
seen a balloon go up. AS the great
silk bag gradually swelled n silence
fell upon the oniookers.
The sick parachutist's manager pat
ted me on the back and said IL was
money easily earned. | agreed-then.
Keep cool" he said, land. whatever
You do, don't look down except to
judge your distance from the earth.
lou see that tower? Il Is about q
thousand yards away. When you are
that distance up pull the check string
and shut your eyes"
y dull murmur rose as the ropes were
cast or and | felt my feet leave the
ground. The upward movement was
gentle, ana n great cheer came I'D TO
me until the band drowned II.
| hardly heard the cheering or the
band The involuntary murmur still
rang in my ears. Perhaps my nerves
were upset possibly II was intuition.
bur from the moment was drawn I'D
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 1t be possible
that 1 had not gone more than a hum
dred yardsI The giant overhead be-
came n 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
echute takes 100 feet sometimes to
open.
l shut my eyes and tried TO count TO
XIII time. hut the figures became ium-
bled, and looked down again. A
swallow skinned past underneath
Ear below there was n sea of upturned
faces, and the music foated UP dis
tinctly. The balloon seemed TO have
stopped rising, and for an eternity /
tried TO gauge the height.
Again the band stopped. and / was
In silent world The crowd OF
breathless specks far beneath was get
ting full value for Its money. The
only noise I heard was the beating of
the blood through my head. was
a ha
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
wild desire to live came with the
hrst terrible rush, and my heart stood
still as | looked eagerly aioft. The
ropes OF the parachute had twisted.
and l was falling to instant death.
Grasping the ropes in clutch of
steel, shook them franticalIy Hall
the huge parachute bellied out with a
noise like pistol shot. and the speed
OF the fall was lessened with a jar.
Again | shook the death trap. The
ropes were sliding at q snaiTs 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
through the space had almost lost
cons i'nS""'S when my feet touched
the GROUND rertly. And then | col