OCR Text |
Show BfiLLflMT f J'fJAKON'S ' ' . t WITNESSED BY THRONG Joseph "McMahon. an aeVoaaut, 29 years of age, filed at 7; 30 o'crock thia morning as the result of Injuries received In a .balloon ascension at the Salt Pahsce last nlgbt. ' $ ' .'; . v-- ; ' McMahon had been in the bhslhesn (or twelve years and was eonsidered ono of the best aeronauts la the couptry. . '. ' , The act which McMahon gave last night, aad which resulted In bis death, la what is known as "the cannot tail act.1' , How" Act Ia Dona. . ' - In the presence of more than 30 people peo-ple Joseph McMahon made a balloon ascension as-cension from the Salt Palace grounds shortly after 8 o'clock last Bight. When the balloon left the grounds McMahon was concealed in a large papier in ache cannon can-non attached to the balloon by a large parachute. The -C consists of alfowiug the balloon rise to a height of 1000 feet or more, when the parachute is cut loose- and the cannon containing the man Is allowed to drop several hundred feet. The man then crawls' from tho cannon and with the aid of a aecond parachute drops gracefully to the ground.. Fails' to Respond. When the balloon.' carrying McMahen last night had reached a height of about 800 feet the man in charge gave the slg- ' -.. . ' nai; a pistol shot, (or him to cut fooee from the balloon. . . For. soma unknown reason. McMahon (ailed, to respond to the signal when it ' was .A red and continued his flight frr a few-seconds, when he cut loose from the balloon. The r-ararhute,. cannon and n.an started towarda eacth, . The parachute made a drop of about 200 feet, the usual distance, before it opened. The second-signal, that (or the performer to come from the cannon and. mike hia drop with the aid of the para-, chute, was given, but McMahon evidently, failed to .hear it, for he did not come from the mouth. of the cannon until Le was about 150 feet d'om the ground. -Drops Like a Shot. Like a shot he dropped to earth, the distance being too short for the, parachute para-chute .to open. The unfortunat. man struck tht ground with terrific force in a field near Main and Tenth South street. Within a minute or two C. W. Hawle and Adolph Levy were In the field. Thy found the man covered with the parachute para-chute and In an unconscious condition. He waa at onca taken to' the. office of Dr C. V. Parmelee, where It waa found that he waa suffering from severe fractures In both angles, bad cuts ia the head and internal Injuries. Dies In Hospital. N Ha waa at one. 'removed to the Holy Cross hospital, where he died this morn- lng. -V McMahon had alwaya been known as a man wbe did not drink, and the aacldent of last evening ia believed to be dye to one or two causes, either that he did not hear the second signal or that he miscalculated the distance to the ground. - McMahon was 29 years of age and hailed from a amall town near Des Moines, I a. No arrangements have yet been made for the funeral. i . , Nelson Not Injured. Bert Nelson, In the afternoon,' went up a distance of about 2000 feet when he cut loose. He alighted several blocks southeast south-east of the ""park right side up. When the accident to McMahon oeourred, it was reported that it was Nelson ' who had been injured. Nelson, however, escaped without a scratch. Wag Cannon Bent? .. I- ;A story' is afloat todsv that the" fa-" fer cannon in which McMahon made' is drop' was slightly bent, so that ho probably could not make his exit in time as planned.- As the cannon was practically destroved in the fall,- thfre-is thfre-is no way of verifying thi$ report. The body of'Mcilahrn was taken to O'Donnell & Co.'s undertaking parlors and embalmed.- It will be shippe-l to McMahon 's old home In Iowa by l'rof. Coleman, proprietor of the exhibition. . A balloon ascension will bo fiven at ' the Salt Palace at 7:30 this evening, the', proceeds to be for ,thS benefit f the dead man's family. .Balloonist llawley will make the ascent. |