MARVELLOUS AERIAL ADVENTURE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2763, 29 March 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)

MARVELLOUS AERIAL ADVENTURE.

Tiierk are numerous stories of thrilling adventure by aeronauts, but it is doubtful if any paraohutist has had a more miraculous escape from destruction than that of Mr J. T. Williams. On the evening of 12th February he was announced to make an ascent from the Ashfield Ground, Sydney. A largo crowd assembled to witness the fea-., and shortly before 6 o'clock everything was ready for the ascent. One of the men holding a oord let it go too soon, and, owing to the oscillation of the balloon, a small tear'was caused. On observing this Williams hurried up matters to get away, fearing that the balloon might burst if kept on the ground, and knowing that if he once got fairly started towards the clouds the small escape would make but little difference. In the rush the ropes got somewhat entangled, but this was not noticed, and the aeronaut made a splendid ascent. On reaching an attitude of about 3000 feet Williams decided to drop, but, owing to the entanglement of the ropes, be could not get ofl. There he was in a most unpleasant predicament, half a mile away from the earth, and attached to a balloon that was soaring Bky wards at a very considerable rate. It was a dangerous and particularly uncomfortable position, but the aeronant luckily did not lose his presence of mind, and immediately set to work to free himself and his parachute. It was blowing a gale of wind, and the balloon tossed about like a Bhip. One of the propellers was knocked away by the wind, and Williams, seeing that the other was of no use, threw it after its companion. Tying himself securely so that he could not fall he left his seat, and clambered up to unravel the bungle, of the ropes. Twice he was thrown back and twice he clambered up again to the task, the balloon still going higher and higher, the atmosphere getting rapidly cooler. At last he got the ropes unloosed, and then he found that the heck of the balloon would hare to be unloosed. This was a more difficult work. It had been very tight and he could not climb within several feet of it. At last, after strenuous efforts, he succeeded in affecting his purpose. By this time the balloon had reached an altitude which the aeronaut computes at 20,000 feet. The cold was intense. His arms were numbed to the elbows, and his legs to the knees. His limbs were becoming blue with the cold. He was becoming deaf in the rarefied atmosphere, and begah to experience some difficulty in breathing. Having untied the neck the balloon settled. It had got beyond the disturbed air current, and was floating in comparative calm. At this point he had an opportunity to look down to see where he might fall. Dowd far, far below him, with an almost impenetrable mass of cloud, through the occasional breaks in which he caught glimpses of the earth and ocean, and perceived that he was drifting steadily seawards. It was impossible from the great altitude to make out anything but the bare outline of the. earth and sea, and everything was reduced to the smallest compass. Finding himself travelling towards the sea, and feeling that to stay in such cold for any time would mean perhaps death, the aeronaut decided to cast off and attempt the drop of four miles. It was after he had jumped from the balloon that the greatest danger occurred. He fell with terific velocity for the short distance, but the parachute opened beautifully, and then feeling that something was wrong he looked up and saw that the parachute had carried away with it the net of the balloon, a mass of cordage considerably over cwt. in weight. This additional weight was a very serious matter, for it accelerated the fall of the parachutist very considerably. It was impossible to cut away the cordage, for the entanglement was some feet above the ring on which he was seated, and from which he dare not leave. The mass of cordage reached down to his side, and waving in the wind as the parachute continued to descend, kept striking against the intrepid aeronaut and seriously endangering his seat, then the next moment flying far out of reach and nearly turning the parachute over. After several endeavours he succeeded in catching the cordage, and to prevent any further danger wrapped it round himself' But the greatest danger of all was to follow. The balloon was on his track. The gas had escaped, and the huge air ship commenced to descend at a tremendous rate. This danger was not noticed till the shock was felt by the balloon striking the parachute, causing it to partially close, and the aeronaut descended for some distance with terrible velocity before the parachute again recovered itself. The folds of the emptying balloon folded around the aeronaut's body, and for a moment it seemed as if all was up. Rapidly recovering himself Williams then threw off the balloon, which getting clear of everything, continued its descent, leaving the aeronaut to follow it at a slower rate. Now all danger appeared to be over, and the only thing left was to make the fall as easy as possible, The parachute continued to descend for some time easily when it suddenly and partially closed, but after another rush through the air recovered itself. The aeronaut was by this time getting within measurable distance of the earth, and began to look out for a spot on which to land. He found on investigation that he was somewhere in the proximity of George's River, and decided to strike the water. It was now about 7 o'clock, and he had been an Lour in the air passing through adventures which savor of the marvellous, and would require the imagination of a Verne to fully comprehend. Noticing a spot on the water, which he took to be a boat, he steered for it with the aid of a small sail. As be approached the water he distinguished the outlines of the boat, and then saw three men in it. He called to attract their attention, but was not heard.'. The fishermen, however, noticed the remarkable object falling from the clouds, and thought at first it was a large kite. Then, perceiving that a man was on it, they immediately pulled towards the spot where he appeared likely to strike. The aeronaut fell within a few yards of the boat, and such was the force of the fall that he sank, what appeared to him, 10 or 12 feet, the rebound being such as to throw him nearly out of the water again. He was still entangled somewhat in the mass of cordage and other material, but managed by treading water, to keep himself up until rescued by the boatmen. The spot where he fell is just behind Matterson's Seabreeze Hotel, Tom Ugly's Point, and to that house be was immediately taken, He was considerably exhausted by the terrible experience. His arms and legs were still blue with cold, his body was considerably bruised by the manner he was thrown about whilst working at the tangled ropes during the ascent of the balloon and when coming down. When interviewed Williams, who is a watchmaker by trade and an amateur parachutist, told his tale simply and modestly. He fully recognised the miraculous escape from death which he had experienced, but he treated the matter calmly, and told his story in a most plain and unvarnished manner. When asked how he felt when he realised | his danger, he said that it did not render him in the slightest degree nervous, but immediately set himself to work to- get out of the difficulty. The men who rescued him, and Mr Matterson also, say that when he lauded he was as oaltn and cool as if he had just slipped fyqm a shower bath, instead of falling iibout four miles through the air, after passing through an experience as thrilling as it is possible tq imagine. Williams swys he intends to make future asoenta, but it is not hia intention to go into the show business. He is simply making these ascents as experients to see if he cannot make some invention to porfect the parachute.—Australian Star.