Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 November 1900 — Coming Down With a Parachute. [ARTICLE]

Coming Down With a Parachute.

“Coming down from the clouds In a parachute is like a dream,” said a circus balloon artist “Ever dream of falling from a high place? You come down, alight quietly and awake, and you’re not hurt Well, that’s the parachute drop over again. • No; there la no danger. A parachute can be guided readily on the down trip, but you can’t steer a balloon. To guide a parachute out of barm’s way a practiced hand can tilt It one way or the other, spill out air and thus work it to where you want to land or to avoid water, trees, chimneys or church spires. “Circus ascensions are generally made in the evening. When the sun goes down, the wind goes down. The balloon then shoots Into the air, and the parachute drops back on the circus lot or not far away. “A balloon is made of 4 cent muslin and weighs about 600 pounds. A parachute Is made of 8 cent muslin. The rope that secures the parachute Is cut with a knife. The aeronaut drops fully 100 feet before the parachute begins to fill. It must fill If you’re up high enough. Invariably the fall is head first. When the parachute begins to fill, the descent is less rapid, and finally when the parachute has finally filled It bulges out with a pop. Then the aeronaut climbs on to his trapeze and guides the parachute to a safe landing. In seven cases out of ten you can land back on the lot where you started from.”—New York News.