FALL FROM THE CLOUDS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXV, Issue 12983, 26 January 1910, Page 2

FALL FROM THE CLOUDS.

2000 FEET IN 6 SECONDS. A Perilous Descent. Thousands of people held their breath and. shivered with fear and trembling when, soon after 6 p.m. on Saturday the parachutist, Einaldo. was seen descending' from the clouds above the Anglican Cathedral, Adelaide, at a. terrific speed, hanging to a. parachute which had only partially opened. “Oh, oh, he will be killed/' said one anxious spectator, and this was a fear which, if not expressed, was present in the mind of every spectator of the man’s perilous journey. The Yiceroy Tea, Carnival had been held on the Jub'lee Ovan, and the final event was a balloon ascent, with six parachutes by Zahn Ein. aldo, of Austria, and Albert Eastwood, of Australia. The balloon was inflated at the Oval in the presence of a large number of interested’onlookers. It was held in. at the bottom of a number of lads, and as it expanded to its full capacity, Einaldo, who was waiting, seated on his trapeze, said, “Let her go when the pistol’s fired, boys.” Bang went the report of the gnn, back sprang the boys, and as the great sphere filled with hot air felt its freedom it rose Steadily upwards. “Good-bye, boys!” yelled Einaldo as he waved his hand and swung from his trapeze by his ■feet. He little knew he was to perform a' sensational and unrehearsed descent, which, as advertised, would “live in the memorv for ever.” Eastwood also hung in a similar manner from another trapeze. Both men resumed a normal position as the balloon floated away serenely and majestically in the direction of North Adelaide. It moved slowly, gradually mounting upwards. It was to be a parachute race between representatvies of Australia and Austria, and thousands of people besides those on the Oval watched the ascent, and waited with interest for the start of the exciting contest. Suddenly the manager of the balloon ascent. Mr Beebe, fired Ids pistol, and at the signal Eastwood, the lighter man, released his parachute. He was at a height of 4500 ft, and used first a red, then, a white, and finally a blue parachute all opening up splendidly. Einaldo remained with the balloon till a height of 5000 feet had been attained, and then at a given signal he released his parachute. He dropped 2500 ft. using a red and then a blue parachute. At this height above earth, the daring aeronaut, in order to make his descent with greater rapidity, released his last parachute—a tricolour one. It failed to open properly, and to the horror of the eager watchers, who could see that something was wrong, he dropped, with startling rapidity, passing his companion in mid-air with tremendous velocity. _ Fortunately for his safety he crashed into a, large fig tree in the yard at, Mrs Bartels’ Quaanbi Nursing Best Home, Pennington Terrace. The parachute partially dragged through the tree. Einaldo. who was suffering severely from affected respiration, caused by the fearful rate at which he had passed through the air, was immediately conveyed into the Home, where he was attended by the nurses and Dr. Cobin. He was soon able to leave the institution, and except for bruises on the hip and leg and a nasty shaking was little the worse for his perilous adventure.

A THRILLING PREDICAMENT. People in the immediate vicinity of the spot gazed open-mouthed at the descending parachutist, and his thrilling predicament. caused them great alarm. Mrs Bartel, referring tb the event, said the parachute looked as7if it would fall on, the hospital cottage,-but escaping this it missed the edge of the. hospital roof by a few feet, and crashed down through the fig tree in the yard. “The dense and leafy foliage broke his fall,” she said, “oi- lie must have been killed. The force with which he landed in the tree was so great that as he bumped the brandies in his downward progress he skinned the bark of the tree with his hip. Nurses released him promptly, and as he was suffering from faulty, respiration, due to the exce£ eive speed at which he travelled through the air, he was quite purple- in the face. Be was conveyed into the hospital, where ice was placed in his mouth and on his head. He rapidly recovered, and as no bones were broken he was able to leave the institution soon, afterwards. He had a marvellous and providential escape.”

A BABY’S PERIL. So had two of our inmates,” continued Mrs Bartel. “When. Rinaldo came plunging: down through the fig tree he landed within a. yard of a small baby lying in a cot, and within a couple of' yards of a. lady patient. Had he struck the baby in his fall it might have been killed. The woman., who was sitting in a chair, was so startled by the sudden apparition, of which she knew nothing that she punned up at once, and ran away terrified. Dr. Corbin, who examined the man, saw his descent from a balcony, and thought Im was going to fall in the river. It was fortunate he did not, as his resniration was so bad that he might have been drowned before aid was forthcoming.”

NERVE-RACKING EXPERIENCES. About an hour after his nerve-racking experience Rinaldo returned to the Oval in cab, accompanied by Mr Beebe. To a representative of the Advertiser, as he limped into the dressing-room, he said: T ° ; I never felt nervous, but when the chute refused to open—the south-east wind caught one part of it, and prevented ik from opening on that side, I thought, 111 be worse off directly than lam now.’ I passed Albert like a flash. I beat him easily, *h?” he remarked with a smile, and when I got near the earth I heard women and children screaming. I s’pose they not used to it. I reckon I dropped over 2000 feet in six or seven seconds. It was going some, and I thought. Til sec the job through.’ The ’chute was not a tfenth part open at first, hut it bellied out a little. When I got close down I spread my legs out and looked for a good place to fall. I took the fig tree with my buttocks, and here I am. The descent shook me up, and I was about three minutes before I could breathe normally It’s not the \vorst experience I’ve liad. At Burra a month ago I was knocked out for twenty minutes. Only once before did a ’chute tail to open with me. That was at Newcastle, where the ’chute opened when about 20ft of the ground. It was a bit late, but luckily I landed in a muddy spot near the biscuit factory, and sank above ray knees into the mud.” He laughed cheerfully as ho added, “I’ll he down the street to-night.”

• w . „ , A NARROW SQUEAK. Mr Beebe, who was much perturbed un- - il he saw what appeared to be a serious altair was only an eventful experience, said It was a narrow squeak for Rinaldo. Bis last parachute was not more than half or two-thirds open. He was trying to race Eastwood and used his v first ’chutes so quickly that I reckon he was breathless when he tried to open up the third, and when the wind held some of the segments overlapping did not have strength or time to catch the cords and shake out the His last ’chute carries about 30 sets of segments; whereas the ordinary number is from 22 to 26. This makes it a little more difficult to work. Eastwood does not like it, as he says it gets a bump with it every-time, but Rinaldo prefers it. He has had worse bumps. This time, fortu-

nately, he has escaped practically scatheless. I do not think ho would have been killed had he fallen direct to earth. The two men and their parachutes were equivalent to the weight of four men on the balloon, which came down at the Children’s Hospital gate. Eastwood landed on King William Eoad, in front of an electric tram, at a spot about 50 yards from the cathedral. He got a nice descent. All’s well that ends wed.” A THANKFUL MATE. Eastwood said he could not ('rrribe his feelings when he saw Einaldo pass b~ hi i with such velocity. “I was full of c: corn,” he said, ‘‘as I could see the ’chute had not opened, and when got to earth I nearly fainted when someone said he was killed. He’s not hint, and I’m jolly glad.” A EUSH TO THE HOSPITAL. When the crowd at the Oval saw that the parachute had not properly opened a large number of them, anticipating a tragedy, scaled the northern fence and rushed along Victoria Drive. They were soon passed by a cab with the horses at a gallop. Mr Beebe, with an anxious look on his face, was seated next to the driver, and he called for more speed. The crowd ran across the bridge and through the park to the hospital . many ran through the gates, but scores, eager to know the fate of the aeronaut, wriggled over the high corrugated iron fence. Curious looks were cast at the limb of the' fig tree from which a piece of bark had been sliced. The crowd pressed round the door, but Mr Beebe and a policeman kept them back. “He is only slightly hurt," someone said, and, delighted that a fatality had been averted, the anxious crowd melted away. A COINCIDENCE. It was somewhat remarkable that Binaldo should have walked in to see West’s pictures at the Trocadoro Gardens on Saturday evening just before the pathetic picture of the burial of the victims of the disaster which befcl the airship Bepublic was shown. The thought of what might have happened ran through the aeronaut’s mind as he watched the funeral procession. Einaldo was at once recognised by the audience, and during the interval was warmly congratulated on his wonderful escape.