Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1909 — MAN KILLED AT STREET FAIR [ARTICLE]

MAN KILLED AT STREET FAIR

Henry Moore Caught in Baloon Rope and Yanked Up In the AirFalla 50 Feet to GroundMonon'News: A most shocking accident occurred here Tuesday afternoon at 5:30 when a premature balloon ascension hurled Henry. Moore to Instant death.. Several hundred people who had assembled to see the balloon go up were eye witnesses to the tragic event and gazed upon the man’s lifeless body. Among these were his wife and daughter who were in the expectant throng. Others with the unfortunate man were watching on the Inside of the balloon while it was being inflated while men and boys

stood around pn the outside holding it as, the inflation developed the gas bag. The main guy rope had been cut and efforts were being made by the men to adjust the parachute preparatory to flight, when a sudden gust of wind blew the balloon on its side, the cold air rushed in at the bottom and it shot upward at an agle of 45 degrees with the velocity of a sky-r wket. Moore’s right leg became entangled in a rope attached to the bottom of the balloon and he was carried up a short distance and then hurled to the ground, a distance of probably 50 feet, his body falling near the main track of the Monon road. Many witnesses say he struck the wires, while others say he passed over them. He was breathing when Dr. Ray Clayton and Dr. Reagan examined him a moment after he fell'. The senior Dr. Clayton was also there about the same time, but life was extinct soon after the fall. The right side of his head and shoulder had received the force of the fall and his neck was broken. The remains were taken to his residence on Walnut street, while the crowd mournfully dispersed, deeply regretting the sad Incident which had marred the first day of the Home-Coming. Deceased was 55 years old and had been a resident of the town many years. He is survived by his wife and four children, two of the latter being married daughters. The community is showing its sympathy with the bereaved family in a substantial way. J. B- Shultz began circulating a subscription paper Tuesday might to secure friends to relieve the immediate necessities of a home deprived of its breadwinner. Residents of Monon who have not already signed will find the list at Critten’s barber shop and should not fail to record their names on it.