THE PARACHUTE 



handy with the pine logs and oil barrel staves that we 

 had to use in order to get enough hot vapour. One 

 day he was going to make an ascent when a bit of 

 the balloon showed signs of fire. I could see it was 

 smouldering and I sang out to everybody not to let 

 it go. But Talbot was already on the trapeze ready 

 to ascend— he used to do all sorts of monkey tricks 

 in the air on that same swinging bar. 



I cried out to him, "Don't go; the balloon's on 

 fire," but he didn't hear and shouted still louder to the 

 men to let go. Just as he started the flames burst 

 out. With the extra heat he went up all the quicker 

 of course, and we could only wonder how soon he 

 would come down. I never thought I should see him 

 ahve agam. \Vlien he got up about fifteen hundred 

 feet the thing was all afire and collapsed, and he came 

 down very swiftly in a field about a hundred and fifty 

 yards away— not exactly with a crash but at a pace 

 at which it might be thought no man could be alive 

 to remember the tale. But he wasn't dead! He 

 was only knocked out. He soon showed signs of life. 

 The scrap of the balloon which was left had broken the 

 fall somewhat. We took him round to the dmg store 

 and gave him some brandy. He got up abc at an 

 hour after and went to a dance. By the way, this all 

 occurred at Cullum, Indiana. 



My first experience at building a real new balloon 

 was at Washington, Indiana. I liked the job better 

 than anything I had done, and soon got expert at it 

 It was after this that Talbot signed a contract to give 

 an ascent and got an extra twenty-five dollars for 

 domg a parachute act in connection with it— neither 

 Talbot nor I had ever seen a parachute, and he told 

 me so, but we got a picture and started in making one. 

 Tlien he told me that he had promised the public a 



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