Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1917-03-02
RY MILLIlM PHILIp sIMMs.
United Press Stan Correspondent.

United Press STAFF Correspondent.
WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN
THE FIELD. Feb. 3.-(By MaiD-Life
in an observation balloon section is
great game Of tag. Death is the
Other Fellow. He is always hot on
your trail, and every now and then
he gets you in g corner Then you're
IT,
Get the major to tell you about
the time he was carried over the Ger
man lines and back again all in one
night" said the young lieutenant, as
we tugged at the end Of tiny wire
cable, in the little basket under the
sausage" high in the wintry sky
But the major was too modest. lie
said:
ooh. all right I'll tell you about
il after dinner tonight" lie did not
like TO talk about his own exploit
though he mentioned several OF his
men who had been the heroes of ad-
ventures in the clouds. But l did get
TO read the official report Of the in
cident and this was the story:
Shortly after midnight one night
the major. after carrying out certain
experiment at about mile high, sig
nailed that he was ready to come
down. The winch on tho big lOrry
/ In the road began to grind and at
: 1917 a. m. the sausage was swaying
I Just out of reach OF the landing
squad. Then, "by an error of judg-
I mont" as the report puts it, the winch
turned a revolution too far. The
metallic V. where the balloons short
cord was spliched 10 the wire cable,
wodged IN the opening leading TO the
I revolving drum, or MINDLESS, and the
cable parted like a piece of sewing
I thread.
With a bound that ierked the bas-
I ket this way and that like a BAH on
the end OF an elastic string, the bal
loon went skying.
AT 1921 a. m, the balloon was q
mile high The major had not used
| his parachute. TO which the harness
about him was still attached, because
the wind az mile and below, was
away from the German lines, which
ran some two miles away. Instead he
! he pulled at the valve-cord to let out
the gas IN the sausage
SIN "valving.' 90 use the venacular
OF the game. the officer, at 1927 "a. m,
/ found himself at above 10000 feet or
about two miles above the earth. II
was bitter cold and getting colder ev-
| cry instant
AT 1910 a. M. he passed the To-
| 600 foot mark. Though he had been
keeping the valve wide open all the
! time the balloon still scared.
How he looked downward There
were lights below. lights which flared
up for a minute. then went out; great,
! white balls of light hanging In the
air and illuminating the countryside
beneath them
Tho major. I'm his sausage. was
crossing the line He knew IN an
instant what had happened. He hal
risen TO high cross-current of al
and was being swept over the Ger
man trenches into German territory
It was too late to jump now.
he tried the parachute and lande
/ safely. n would be only to be take
, ! prisoner by the enemy.
, So cold that his marrow seemed frt
zen, he now set about to tear up nj
maps. notes and everything whlc
might help tho Germans. Leanin
out of the basket and peering dow
he could no longer see the flares sen
up 60 light the trenches. The indi
Gator showed that he was falling now
rather rapidly. Making sure that H.
had destroyed all papers he waited
Still falling, the major threw on
some ballast TO check the rapid de
scent. One faint hope still was lef
him, he might be blown back across