Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 169, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 July 1911 — Twice Close to Death. [ARTICLE]

Twice Close to Death.

An unpleasapt adventure recently befell a Bavarian officer who was taking observations above the fortress of Ingolstadt, Germany, from a captive balloon. A sudden and violent gust of wind snapped the mooring cable and carried the aerostat up and away at a dizzy speed. The officer, who was alone in the car, attempted to empty the balloon by means of the ripping cord, but could not get this to work. Meanwhile, he had been carried to an altitude of 1,500 feet and was beginning to feel the exhausting effects of this rapid change of elevation. Realizing that his situation was desperate, he exerted all his powers, and managed to clamber up to the envelope and slash a hole in it, whereupon the balloon descended even more rapidly than it had risen. When near the earth he was again in imminent peril, but he made a jump for it and had the good luck to be caught by the friendly branch of a tree. Relieved of his weight, the balloon shot up into the air again and was soon lost to sight.