The daily Alaskan., 1909-11-02
A PIONEER
 AER0NAUT

He Was the First Aeronaut to Lose
 His Life From a Balloon, and He
 Was Dashed to Death With a Com
 panion From a Height of f,7OO Feet.
 Jean Francois piIutrc de Rozier, who was born at Metz in l7JG and who was killed. a martyr to his zeal, by a fall from his balloon at Boulogue France, June 10, 1Tg5. was the first acronaut to lose his life iD the dangerous work Of mastering the air,
 piuue dc Nozier, who had made ascents in the MontgaIdcr balloon, de- termmcd to solve the question of bal looms as mediums for carrying passen- gers and could think and dream of nothing but how be could fashion a machine that would carry him on an aerial voyage. When his balloon was finished he made some twcnty-three asccuts. nearly always alone, but occa- sionally accompanied by the Marquis dArlauGcs. a brave soldier and one who had faith in PuoUe's ideas. The balloon was always held captive by strong cords.
 Whenever he went up there was crowd Co watch him. One day there was thrilling moment. The balloon drirtcd toward some high trees, and it seemed inevitable that the tissues would be torn by Che branches and PUaue dashed to the ground They saw the young man calmly throw a bunch of straw on his fire aud quickly pour over it two small bottles of oil. Instantly thc fierce heat sent the bal .oon up safely, and it swept beyond the danger line of the trees. A mighty shout went up from the crowd, and when he came down Pu0trc had an ovation.
 He now felt ready to make his grand experimental trial trip, but the king would not allow him to go, as he feared to lose so brave and scientific a man. Pilare was in despair, and at length the king said that he would give him the opportunity to test the safety of his balloon In the following way. He would give full pardon to any two criminals who were willing to go up in it. provided PuaJre did not him self go.
 The scientist was very angry. He said: "Wnag Shall vile criminals, foul murderars. men rejected from the bos. om Of society. have the glory of being the first Co navigate the air: Never while Plla.re de Rozicr draws breath"
 Af,cr repeated prayers for pcrmis- sion to make his experiment he op- Dcalcd Co tHc influence of the Duchess de PolIguac. the govcrucss of the royal children. To her petitions the Mar, guis d'ArIaudes added his and asked to be allowed to accompany PIatrc. At length consent was obtained.
 On Nov. 2l, 11S3, Piatre and the marquis made am ascent from the gar dcus of the Chateau de la Mucttc, in the Bois. They sailed safely across the Seine. over the Hospital For old Sol dicrs. over thc Military school and landed about five miles from Paris. Their return was greeted with wild enthusiasm.
 The marquis rode back, but Pil0tre had Co go first to his house and get a coat. for some one had stolen his in the mfyuD Of their coming down, when the balloon. of course, collapsed.
 Puatrc now announced that he would cross thc channel from Boulogne to England A wealthy Frcnchmau ad- vanced the money to construct an i'm proved machine that he was certain could stay in the air as long as neces- sary This new invention was a bal loon filed with hydrogen gas. Under it was a cylinder by which he expected to rarely the air contained in it so that he could either ascend or descend cas- fly and so reach currents of air that would take him in any desired direc- tion
 It was five months before there came a day suitable for making Che aerial trip. A physician who loved adventure and believed in the success of the cX- pertinent went with him from Bou- Iognc
 They cut the cords that held the bal loon at . o'clock in the morning. The ascent was majestic, and when at height of 200 feet the balloon swept into a current of air that took it to- ward the channel Suddenly a cross current swept it back.
 Piatrc husrencd to let some cold air into Che cylinder and in some way made rent in thc balloon. They were 1.7OO feet high. and instantly they were dashed to the earth, mangled and crushed frighttully.
 France still remembers his enthusi- asgc faith in his scientific efforts, and in many places are memorials and in- scriptious that pcrpetuate his fame Boston Globe