The Washington herald., 1908-08-13
BALDWIN'S AIRSHIP LANDS IN A FIELD

Corureld. which IS owned by George An
derson and "Old Man" Brown. both ne
groes. the owners of the land shouted 20
Capt. Baldwin and 1Ir. Curtiss- 70 de
Lawd's sake take dat thing way from
heah. Doan Erap caJ machine on US
Capt baldwin requested them 20 catch
the framework and prevent e. from strik-
lnE the ground They ;ini5ly obeyed.
Within i've minutes the corn. potatoes.
and peas planted iu the field were tram
pied down by hr-atEless men. women.
and children. Many of them were in
Clarendon when the balloon began 20 de
sCend. and. thinking i- was a shor- dis
tance away. ran To- ascertain the cause
Of the accident.
Lieuts- Laha1- and FouI0ls and several
enlisted men r-cm the signal Corps. as
well as Capt Raldwi1's faithful nan,
/ jay" and scores OF persons from Fort
Myer. were quickly on the scene Every
one gave al the assistance possible.
He Blamed n Helper.
Mr.. Curtlss resumed his work on the
motor He blamed the accident on one
4 his helpers. declaring Il 20 De- funny
that the only connection he did not make
himself should have caused the failure
10 complete the course Capt Baldwin
appeared nervous when the balloon came
down. bat said the damage would soon
be repaired. and the trip resumed. a
number Of farmers focsed around the
aeronaucs and cEee-e5 them
At III o'clock the engine Wa repaired
and the propeller began revolving az a
rate Of 81 times "a minute. After the
engine had been tried f7u- minutes. Capt
BALDWIN ordered al hands 20 release the
machine. Cheer after cheer went up as
the dirigibIe agaIn sailed into the air.
Although the balloon was blown some
distance west. L covered the mile and a
quarter back % Fort A1ver in SIX min
utes. Cart Baldwin circleE around the
parade grounds once. and then landed
Take her into The tent said Capt
Baldwin We had an accident to-day
but Wen De sI right tomorrow"
He was cLsred by S01 or an faitHfuI
admirers who remained at Fort Nyer un-
til he returned
Il was not known by any member Of
the board Of test last night whether yes
terday's fight viii be considered Official
Mai. S1uieT when asked Il the test
would De considered Official said no Gid
not know II IS probable the members OF
the board viii meet at the War Depart
msnt this morning and reach a decision
IN the matter
Walter WeIman was an interested
spectator He inspected the diriSfbIe and
said u was a great ship. but not nearly
as large as the one n which he viii make
a dash 20 the north pole next summer.
our balloon is g feet IN diameter and
ls4 feet in length" said NIr- Wellman
The envelope IS made Of three layers Of
cotton and silk and three layers Of rub
ber- The outside IS rubber. The balloon
holds $500 cubic feet Of hydrogen gas
II has an engine with % or 50 horse
power. and can carry $50 pounds The
balloon weighs 400 pounds. With the
car and passengers. It weighs 900. The
car is not suspended by net work Il Is
attached 10 several strong loops Of fabric
We have two large screw propeIIsrs on
the sides Of the balloon and a large rud-
der in the rear
WeiIman Has n Word
Capt BaIdwin's machine is much
lighter than ours. but it looks 10 be a
sturdy craft. Ours is made thick and
heavy for stability. because We will need
it on our expedition
We viii start from a point north OF
Spitzenburg. The name Of the starting
point. Il I must tell sou. IS Capt Well
man That IS where We have a large
steel hanger for our dirigible. As
I am not fond Of taking chances. I do
not think 7 wiH bring our machine to
America for a trial trip At present il
is stored in Paris. We probably will
make the final test there"
Notwithstanding the accident 10 Cant
Baldwin's dirigibIe. ii is believed the War
Department VIII purchase r.. Gen Allen
said yesterday that If the dirigibIe could
show appreciabIe speed and endurance he
would buy il for experiments. if not for
practical use in warfare