Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-09-03

tors changing his position relatively
to, the center Of gravity of the airship
Capt Jones drove the nose of his
airship into the face of the wind, and
the great cigar shaped envelope fiat
tened slightly, but this caused the spec
tators no alarm. as they had become
familiar with this phenomenon at
Mondays successful ascension. The
rattle of the engine grew louder. as ev-
cry bit Of available power was utilized
to force the Boomerang back to her
starting point.
Suddenly, amid the sound of the
whirring engine and the clutter
clutter Of its exhaust, there came
slight pop" and spot Of fire appear.
ed on the under part of the, engine
The crowd saw, understood the dam
ger. and held their breath a second
waiting, hoping for the fire to go out
Capt. Jones appeared to take no no
tice, and while the truth Of the matter
will always remain a mystery as deep
as the great mystery of death itself,
yet it is believed that he was for some
moments unaware of what was going
on behind him. second burst of
flame, and the fire had encircled the
ANcAI C1HIc a HASH
that cleft the great envelope Of the
airship in twain. and cry that deep
ened into a roar of horror went up
from thousands Of threats.
Capt. Jones was now evidently
aware of his danger. He climbed far
out on the under-rigging of his air.
ship. tryingFto point its nose downward
to deaden the shock of the fall. The
lurid flames, mounted higher and high
er as the burning hydrogen gas began
to pour from the envelope, and then
the great airship began to drop, slowly
at first, then faster and faster, as the
balloon became emptied of gas, and
the weight of the rigging, the eight
cylinder gasoline engine and the poor,
doomed aeronaut, began to take effect
in sickening side swOOp like that Of
wounded bird. A row of trees on
the Chase estate hid from view the
spot on which the mass Of burning de-
bris and the man clinging to it came to
earth.
Instantly from all directions came a
crowd running toward the place where
Capt. Jones had disappeared. Among
those in the hurrying throng was Mrs.
Jones, the wife of the aeronaut, who
had been sitting in the grandstand
with her baby girl. Ascensions have
always been to her times of deepest
anxiety, but her husband had always
been very successful in his work. The
first flash of fire, an enemy unprovided
for in any of Capt. Jones preparations
for mishaps, told to her trained eye the
terrible truth. Leaving her little girl
in the care of a woman beside her,
she rushed to the exit Of the grand
stand and out to the gate of the
grounds.
Near the gate Mrs. Jones met young
man who served Capt Jones in the ca
pacity of attendant and he summoned a
public carriage and they fastened in the
direction the airship had taken. Bert
Comstock, another Of Capt Jones' at
PENDANTS, had been following the airship
before the accident and was one of the
first to reach the scene. 1t was he, With
others. who pulled the aeronaut out Of
the way of the burning bag after he
had struck the. ground. Nobody could
be found Wednesday who witnessed the
actual striking the ground, but it. is
thought that when a short distance from
the ground the frame pitched forward
apd that the part of the fran to which
Capt Jones was clinging was the first
to strike the earth.
When assistance came Capt. Jones was
lying almost motionless on the ground.
Several members of the Waterville fire
department were nearby and they at once
gave aid, putting out the fire in the burn
ing balloon and, under the direction of
Chief W. W. Berry. keeping the crowd
back in order to give the suffering man
the proper amount of air. 1t was a silent
crowd. albeit large one, that listened
to the hard breathings and means of the
dying man.
The first thing done was to remove
Capt Jones from the dense smoke Of the
smouldering gas bag. AS he lay upon the
grass Mrs. Jones broke through the ring
which encircled the PROSTATE form and,
very pale but in complete control of her
SELF knelt beside her husband. Many a
man turned aside to brush away tear
or stifie sob as Capt Jones feebly took
his wife's hand
After what seemed an endless delay,
during which the patient received atten-
ton from Drs. E. E. Goodrich, John
Towne and J. F. Hill. Redington's ambu-
lance arrived, and the patient. was con-
veyed to his lodgings at Mrs Georgia A.
Bowie's. Oakland street. Mrs. Jones
pluckily staying by her husband and rid
ing on the ambulance
shameful feature Of the occurrence
was the foolish and wicked scramble for
portions of the airship which was made
by souvenir hunters. it being necessary to
load the wrecked machine onto a wagon
at once to prevent its being broken IN
and carried away. Even the batteries
from the gasoline engine did not escape
the vandals.
1t was 5.o5 when Capt. Jones was placed
IN the ambulance and after ride Of a
rev minutes he reached his lodgings. but
lived only until p NJ
Coroner Frank Redington was at once
notified. The remains were taken to Red
ington's undertaking room, Silver street
An inquest. An inquest being deemed
necessary. Coroner Redington impanelIed
the Following jury: Fred p Head. Will
liam w. Edwards, Sherman L, Rnr,-v
Carroll N. Perkins, George F. Davies and
Joseph p. Giroux. The jury viewed tho
remains and adjourned until o.o,oo,.