OCR Text |
Show ilUTS FALL UT48B0 FEET irience and Wonder-e Wonder-e of Americans in national Race. 5LTRST AFTER ING HIGH ALTITUDE of Terror-Stricken Vatch Drop ; Speed :cd Near Earth, ct 11. Tho international which started today from Schmargcnborg. was the hrilllng event, two Ameri-i Ameri-i having a miraculous oath. The American bnl-, bnl-, tho only Amerlcan-bullt contest, having on board irbes and Augustus Post, minutes after the start Itude of 4000 feet, ; it shot down like a-bul-:hc torn silk bag assumed , parachute, thus checking f the descent. Coming irlh, however, the basket tie roof of a house, but tho :d with but slight Injuries, e Largo Crowd, which twenty-three bal-tfed, bal-tfed, representing Great :o, Germany, tho United land, Belgium, Italy and at 3 o'clock this after-iresence after-iresence of at least 8000 le sunshine was brilliant as that of summer. Amid "America" and volleys of t balloon was sent away, lerlca II," under command cCoy, who was accompa-nant accompa-nant Voghmann. was decorated with the les and It. sailed away to it a rapid pace, tho aoro-tholr aoro-tholr hats, tlve of each of the other sd the American balloon t intervals of two minutes, ymiis of the respective ig forth as tho ropes were rs Terror-Stricken, atch of plght balloons was In tho "Conqueror," which 1th some difficulty owing id and too much ballast. It shot upward and i nltltudo Imnn Incredibly basket swaying violently, t instantly a cry of horror crowd, who saw the silk touted: is ripping up." tood for a moment pnnlc-i pnnlc-i turned away, as they saw ling with the llghtnlng-llko. ho same time showers of urtcnances of the balloon h equal rapidity and then ccn through thu envelope, idges of the silk showing I Seemed Certain Death, are killed," went In a hushed through tho crowd, but shortly tinder of the envelope appeared Irst a triangular shape nnd then sformed Into a sort of parachute jp of the net. nnd the passage recked balloon was considerably i down slower and slower, mean-ng mean-ng swept by the wind far to the :, nnd finally disappeared from Ind a block of houses. The sus-ionc sus-ionc tho crowd was terrible, but nutcs later a telephone message Ivcd from Frlcdenau, which nn-that nn-that the men had landed and been seriously Injured. A great elief went up among the people, w thflr hats In the air for Joy. r balloons were sent up after a ly, without further accident, and Forbes, who nppcarcd to be o the worse for his experience "at ho was suffering somewhat shock, gave tho Associated :hrllllng account of the accident. Tells of Experience, id somo difficulty," he said, "In iway, but once we left the svcrythlng Bccmed to be right; ntcd almost perpendicularly to tie of 4000 feet. As I looked at ding Instrument to make a note tltude I henrd a pcpullar swish, to Post. 'That sounds dangor-imcdlately dangor-imcdlately I saw that tho en-vns en-vns rapidly deflating, the gas in clouds. Instantly I threw idlx clear of the basket and tho 3. drawing my Jncknlfe, cut, the it were attached to the thirty's thirty-'s of sand hanging around the In the meantime threw over g portable. We could sec. how-,t how-,t we were falling more rapidly io of the ejected articles. Ln-i Ln-i tho descent of tho balloon was we observed one bag of sand a baby carriage, which was to pieces but fortunately tho atched out the baby and saved of us sprang up and held on to above, hoping In this way to o crash. Then nbovn us could the onvolope gradually spreading J continued to fall with terrific til a sort of parachute had been and then wu knew that unless a nlsduip occurred wo would prob-savod prob-savod from death, peed did not decrease as much hould havo liked, and we were ivlng at n. rapid pace when wo tho tops of tlio high houses in 6t, which Increased the danger, cd over one roof, almost touching Hill holding on to the ring. We thu next block, but flnnlly struck ard roof of a houne In the block . and tho net and en"elope fell Niosllo side. Tho basket crashed tno tllos and wont partly through occupied room. Tho man In the uj terrified, but, recovering him-slsted him-slsted uh to the roof, down the skylight nnd to tho street ?hero the crowds cheered us and ir hands, Neither Post nor my-scrlously my-scrlously hurt. I had cramps of h but otherwise I am all right." |