The daily Alaskan., 1918-05-16
Twelve 0hserVers in One Day Trust to ParaGFutes in
 Leaps for Life.
PERIL IN BURNING GAS BAGS
Flameo Likely Co oVertakS the De- sesndInu obserVers-Many Mar row Escapes From Dsath-ons
 Relates Experiences.

ton balloons when attacked by Ger man aIrplanes were described by ob' servers Ot the British Royal Flying corps to an Associated Press core spondsnt when he YfSitsd one of their camps behind the lines few days ago.
 A balloon ascent at the front Is nev- CT q light undertaking, and on one day recently when the correspondent yis' ited a station in a fairly Inactive part of the line sir balloons containing l2 men were shot down by German air planes, all within sight of one another
 One of the IF officers who were com' pelled to reach terra hcmR by the para chute route told the story of his trip.
 I've were perched at $500 feet" he said, "Rnd had been up only half an hour when a column of smoke two miles southward attracted our notice. "There goes No. 16," said my observer.
 1.-TWO white fecks floating earthward told US that the two passengers of the balloon had got clear in time. Just then two similar Specks appeared sud denly from under, another balloon warning us that the BOche was out for Q wholesale killing this time. Six more white specks now appeared, and, since 1t was evident that the entire line was being attacked, l gave the order to haul down.
 Sudden Attack by Alrplane.
 "At 1000 feet, ordered the winch stopped. No more balloons had been at- tackled, and although ours was now the only one up, l could see British fighting planes ascending from the air dromes behind us to chase away the | enemy. So I decided to venture up again. We ascended to 5000 feet this time, and soon were at work again.
 'Then suddenly something happen ed. It happened swiftly as In dream. We didn't even see the German Alba tross approaching, but our ground Oni. cer and his scouts gave us the alarm just a second or two before the hawk was on us. I heard my observer, at the telephone, say suddenly, Whats that7 Stand by! Good Heavens! ! Then he turned calmly to me and said with & smile, Sorry, old man, we must get out at once He helped me over the side first.
 "I dropped and heard 'wumph' as the parachute left Its case. This was the last sensation attempted to ana lyze as l fell like a stone for 800 feet. I saw the balloon shoot violently up- ward, and then my view was plotted out by a large white umbrella which suddenly appeared above my head, and I realized that the parachute had open ed. I didn't look down, As I felt my body swaying easily in the breeze. The roar above told me that the AlbRtross had done It's work and the balloon was Rfre. You cannot, of course, maneuver 6 parachute, and there Is always the possibility of the burning balloon over taking you and burning your only means of escape.
 "But before reached the ground saw far in front the AlbRtross crash lng to earth minus a wing. She had been hit by a cluster of antiaircraft shells.
 "The next thing 1 knew was that was lying in the middle of a plowed field, while q short distance of saw my observer coming Seross toward me-"
 Narrow Eseaps From Death.
 All 1S st the officers of the wrecked balloons escaped safely on this occR- sion. They are not always SO fOrtu- nate. At this same station c few days before an officer was shot and killed when dropping ln his parachute. His balloon had been set ahre by a Ger man alrplane, and. as usual, hs and his companion took to their para chutes. They had hardly got clear of the balloon when the attacking air plane gwooped down on them, it's ma chine gun in full play. One of the ofa- cers was killed, and. although the oth- CT escaped, his parachute was torn by S bullet
 4u6 OdAAOOh NSAALAohONA NNAN NAS story of an officer who had gone up alone and whose balloon was shelled when flying at 1000 feet. On these oc- casIons 1t Is dangerous to haul down, for the position of the winch Is thereby given away to the enemy gunners. At last, after q cloud of shrapnel smoke l had appeared almost under the basket and no response came down the tele- phone wire to Inquiries as to whether everything was all right, the ground officer gave the order to haul down. Ten minutes later the car touched the ground, and the observer was found lying at the bottom of the basket, un- conscious but unhurt. It was . bad case of shell shock, from which the officer WAS several months h recoV- ering.
 A few days ago, at nearby station, a balloon suddenly caught Ire, for no apparent reason. The two observers tried to escape in thelr pRrachutes, but tne blazing balloon overlook them, and they were killed. Theories aS to the cause of the disaster were numerous,