Fort Mill times. (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, March 16, 1911, Image 6
A MURDER
(New Yorl
There is a man living today who
(has gone through the whole thrilling,
horror-filled experience of killing a
mar. in the cloud? The marks of
grief and woo on his face and his
shattered nerves tell the whole story.
Robert F. Scanlon was known
through the Middle West as one of
the most daring and even foolhardy
aeronauts and parachute Junipers in
all the country, ltarely was a day
too windy or a district too dangerous
for him to make his ascension according
to contract and on time.
Then in a day, in an hour, it was all
changed.
It was during Fair Week at Cah'Okla,
111. People from all the surrounding
country and towns had
come in on the last day of the week
to make merry when Scanion was
billed to make a balloon ascension
and parachute leap.
He himself superintended the lilting
of the loalloon with hot air and
coal gas by throwing light wood and
coal oil on the fire in the furnace a
few yards from the balloon. The
gas was sent Into the canvass bag
through a tunnel and a pipe, the
mouth of the balloon over the opening
The gas bag began to expand,
|>ufllng up in little lerks almost like
4>egan to life Its head off the ground
the beating of a great heart. As it
the people packed in closer and shouted
out in excitement. Around the
balloon like a fringe wrro rows of
of bags of sand to weight it down,
and In addition, men from the cr^wd
were pressed in to cling to the guy
ropes that the last possible mitre of
gas might be pot in before it should
be released for Its shoot up Into the
air.
The llalloon Is Inflated.
Slowly the balloon rose until Its
tail brushed the pround bearinp itself
for a flipht like some treat creature
of the air. Scanion in his tiphts
and spanples had to keep running
from one side of the balloon to the
other and then out to the furnace to
give orders to his assistants. It was
hard work and the delay of a second
meant that something might go
wrong and that the asenslon might
be a failure. Little by little he ordered
the men standing around the
ballon, their arms upstretched holding
the guy lines,to slack their ropes.
'As the great bag tuged the men would
he lifted off their feet, the balloon
rolling from side to side as thougn
drunk.
Stretched out on the ground was
thd parachute fastened to the bag of
the balloon so that when the balloon
ehot up It would be swinging directly
under It, fastened only by one rope.
A cord led up to a knife so that when
the aeronaut wanted to descend he
would but have to jerk the cord, cutting
the rope and float down to earth
and safety. Under the parachute the
trapeze bar was hanging, a bright
brass rod on which Scanion was to
hang and go through his gymnastics
while being wafted to the clouds.
As the bag straightened up It began
to tug so that the farmers and
townspeople swinging on it for balst
began to grow afraid and anxious
release their hold.
"Hey, Mac," he called to his as tant,
"throw in another chunk!'
Mac knew what that meant, and
on the fire tossed a small bucket of
coal oil. A blaze of fire leaped
through the tunnel and the b.v'uon
tore itself out of the hands of ihe
ballast men. The balloon woblr.eo
up.
A muttering shout ran around tho
crowd for the tension was at its
height, and a man trom their midst
was about to be whisked into the
heavens. Women .threw up their
hands and shouted out words of
warning.
"Hold on tight,'.' called out an old
man leaning on a gnarled cane for
support.
"Oh, I know he will be killed, '
sobbed a woman, turnihg away her
eyes.
"Iyet Go. or You Will l?o Killed!"
But a 11 this was met with at every
performance and served in no way to
unstring Scanion's nerves. All his
mind and energies were bent on
clearing the buildings and treetops.
"Let her go, hoys." he called out
over the exclamations of the people
and the cracking of the fire. "Cut
loose."
Running back Scanion picked up
the brass trapeze rod and seated
himself on it, one hand on each rope.
Then as the balloon slipped up into
the air he ran forward under It, the
long-folded paraclnrte tugging him
gently, thus saving himself from being
dragged over the ground. Theri
had not been a hitch,' the weather
was perfect, he was getting a goou
start. The ascent seemed no different
from a dozen others he had
made.
But there Is where the risk of a
balloon jumper comes In. He never
knows what moment something will
happen.
Suddenly a drunken man burst
through the crowd and threw his
arms around Scnnlon.
He was a big muscular man, and
In his daz/ed eyes was-the look of an
Intoxicated man who cares not the
least what happens. Scanlon had to
grasp the ropes on the ends of the
ar to be kept from being pulled ofl
IN THE AID
111 i iijli run
k World.)
backward.
The parachute bar was Just be'.ng
lifted off the ground, and Scanlon
had no way to flgnt back except by
kicking.
"Let loose, let loose," he yelled
frantically, but the man only tightened
his grip and buried his face In
Scanion's spangles, afraid to look
down.
For a moment the crowd stood too
horrified to move, then several of the
men coming to themselves rushed out
and sprang wildly at the drunken
man's dangling feet. But they missed
and In a second more the baloon had 1
risen above the tops of the trees and
the two men over the heads of the
people.
"Let go or you will be killed, '
cried Scanlon, squirming in the man's
grasp and kicking as best ho could.
But the man held on grimly without
answering a word.
The horror of it all flashed thro.!j,h
Scanion's mind and made him fight
now resolutely. Here he was sitting
on a brass rod twenty feet under
the balloon, riding a baloon built for
only 150 pounds, plus the weight of
the parachute, and he himself was
invor xx*ni rrL t Ktr ton TKo m
clinging to his arms must weigh at
least 170 pounds.
To make the ascent this way would
be absolute folly. So he redoubled
'.lis energies toward kicking off the
unwelcome passenger. Letting go of
one hand he clung to one swinging,
bending rope and with the free hand
tried to tear apart the man's fingers
kicking him madly on the thighs with
his heels.
"Drop, drop, you can make it yet,"
called out Scanion, almost out of
breath.
But the man paid no heed, holding
on as grimly as death itself. Catching
hold of one of the man's hands
! Scanion tore it away. The man freed
his hand again and fastened it in another
place. Surging back and forth,
Scanion tried to wriggle out of the
man's grasp, the combined weight
sending a wave clear up to the balloon
like a quick Jerk travelling along
a rope. Breathing with quick intakes
of breath, partly from exhaustion
and partly from the effect of the
liquor, the man clung to Scanion
without speaking a word. One idea
was firmly fixed in his mind, and that
was that he must hold on tight, and
with the grip and determination of a
drowning man he carried out his
idea.
1 n ~ Ut- 1 1 41.- ? *
il-yj i ailih II lO lUUlvI UJI Lilt? IllilU 3
back Scanion got It against the man's
face by a quick surge and pushed
madly and blindly, but the man buried
his face In the other side of
Scanion's l>ack and the short advantage
was gone.
Rapidly but with stately dignity
the balloon rose into the air each
second adding to the distance that
one of them must fall. Scanion's
hands sank deep into the bar ropes
and they came down almost to the
level of the bar, his head was pulled
back until he could see nothing but
the drooping skirts of the parachute
and the bulging sides of the balloon
over him. Squirming and kicking,
he struggled till his breath was almost
spent, fighting against time,
knowing that each moment the balloon
was getting higher and higher.
Finally, twisting his head around,
Scanion says that they were fully five
hundred feet high and that a drop
meant Instant death. He could see
the crowd standing almost as he had
left it, scaicely making a sound, all
faces tense and set, silent watcheis
of the struggle for life in mid-air.
A Single Chance of Escape.
Suddenly the man pave a lunge
and flung one arm over the bar, then
in spite of all Scanlon could do he
swung hack and hooked a knee over
It, like an acrobat In a show.
Scanion looked down Into the
man's face. It was wrinkled into
lines of fear and determination. His
eyes were wide open and staring, but
afraid to look down. There was not
the slightest sign of drunkenness
about, the face, the terrible struggle
had completely cleared his mind.
Scanion could see that the man was
possessed of but one idea and that
was to hold madly to the swinging
bar. His whole strength and his
whole mind were set in carrying this
out.
As Scanion looked down at the
man he turned over every possible
chance to escape.
To drop meant destruction. The
parachute was built to carry only one
man. Possibly one of them might go
down In the parachute and the other
ride the balloon down by waiting till
the night air chilled the gas. It was
a straw, but worth seizing.
) "Ail right?it's too late for you to
dron off now " snirl Qconlnn err*? fU at
I "Swing yourself up on this bar.
| The man looked up at him more
j like a wild animal than a human being,
like a dog trying to understand
just what his master means. So
firmly fixed in his mind was the idea
i that he must cling to the bar that he
could not comprehend what Scanion
I meant.
i "Climb tip. damn you!" growled
> Scanion. "We've got to stick it out
i together."
The Mght of understanding broke
:[into the man's eyes, and with rigid,
trembling muscles he drew himself
up on the bar and wound his arm
around the supporting rope. The
two sat crowded shoulder to shoulHop
fool n <r nrltK onoeoalw
V4V* .UV...O, ? ?V4* oval VCI/ VUUUgU
room to move.
t "Don't hurt me, whined the man,
speaking for the first time.
"Shut up and don't shake the balloon,
snapped Scanlon.
The man kept his eyes on Scanlon,
afraid to look toward the earth, "is
It very?very far?"
I "You'll think so going down!"
Scanlon shot back.
The Fight for Fife.
The man whimpered and shrank
the rope without looking down.
"What are you going to do about
it?" demanded Scanlon, taking this
chance to punish the Intruder. The
danger now did not seem so imminent.
and so Scanion was bound to
Impress on the man what he had
done.
The man whlempered and shrank
away from the aeronaut. The fight
was gone out of him; he dreaded the
upbraiding more than the kicking.
"What made you do It?" demanded
Scanion.
"I thought?I don't know"?
A slight ripping sounded over th?ir '
heads. Scanion became electrified,
but to the unwelcome passenger It
meant nothing. Scanlon glanced uo.
His worst fears were confirmed.
One of the ropes fastening on the "
sides of the balloon and supporting
1 the parachute had ripped down a few
inches and the gas and smoko were
pouring out. The bar rocked bacK
and forth again and tho rent enlarged.
In a moment it might tear
larger and the two would go rocking
swiftly downward.
The only chance for safety was for
one of them to go in the parachute?
and self-preservation is the first law
j of nature.
"Don't rock the balloon," shouted 1
Scanion fiercely, although the man
was sitting quietly enough. The man
said nothing.
"Why don't you look down?"
demanded Scanion with all the fierce- '
ness that fighting for one's own iife
brings up in one.
The man watched Scanion humbly
a moment and then turned his eyes
down. Wrapping his legs together,
Scanion lunged at the man and tore
madly at his fingers gripped around
the rope and the end of the bar. Silently
the two fought, their breaths
coinings quick and fast, their nails
bringing great gashes on each other's
hands. The bar and the parachute
rocked to the struggle, but that alone
told the story of the struggle to the
birds. Finally Scanion got the man's
fingers loose from the rope, and in
one surge of strength pushed him off
backward. The other hand of the
man. gripped around the bar, undoubted,
and without a sound he
went whirling through the air, turning
grotesquely, his arms striking out
as if they expected to catch on something.
Fascinated. Scanion could not keep
his eyes off the whirling body. So
squarely under him was It that but
for the turnings It did not seem to be
moving. It seemed to be resting in
space. As it got farther away it ceased
to struggle, falling like a dead
mass. A sparrowhawk darted toward
it curiously, then turned away.
Then the body struck the ground?
in a small pasture lot. The sound
which travels upward more easily
came to him with sickening clearness.
It seemed as though he was only a
few feet away. Hut look as he might,
Scanion could not see where the body
had struck. It seemed to have buried
itself in the ground.
His courage almost gone, Scanion
pulled the rope that severed the parachute
from the l>aloon and dropped
to the ground. When the people came
running up he was so weak that he
could scarcely stand alone. That evening
he was arrested, and later
stood trial for the man's death, but
was acquitted on the ground of selfdefense.
Hut it was Scanlon's last ascension.
He is now afraid as death of a balloon,
and will scarcely look at a flying
machine in the air. His nerves
are completely gone, and as he talks
he keeps moving his hands aimlessly
around over his lap and knees. He
makes his living during the summer
in small towns and during the wintor
in vaudeville by doing high diving.
"It's the nights that make me miserable.
he said, buttoninir and tin but
toning his roat. "I can stand the
daytime pretty well, for there's people
around then. Hut the nights! I
always see something falling, falling
and waving its hands."
After All.
"I have been a drudge all my life,"
he complained.
"Well," the unsympathetic old
bachelor replied, "it's largely your
own fault. Why did you ever get
married? Look at me."
"Yes. I'm looking at you. That's
what reconciles me to my condition.
After all, there are worse things
than drudges in the world."Chicago
Record-Herald.
IJoesn't Need the Coin.
"Five hundred dollars a night for
100 nights," was an ofTer telegraphed
from a lvceum bureau in San Francisco
to Representative Cannon, of IIlnio,
the retiring Speaker of tnc
House Tuesday. "Too busy,' was
In substance the reply telegraphed
back hy Mr. Cannon. The ofTer prescribed
that Mr. Cannon could name
i his own speaking dates ou the clr>
cult.
CLASSIFIED COLUMN
>XXX?0000(XXX)OCXyX>QOOOCCCFor
Sale?Pure King Cotton Seed at
Poultry Yard, Darlington. S. S.
For Sale*? Pure King Cotton Seed at
$1.00 per buBhel. Address, J. J.
Llttlejohn, Jonesvllle, S. C.
Money Maker Cotton ImnrnvpH ?nd
selected by T. J. Klrven la the
best. Seed at $1 per bushel. T. J.
Klrven, Providence, S. C.
For Sale?Eight hundred bushels selected
Red Rust-proof home raised
seed oats, at 60 cents bushel. J.
M.Simmons, Mountvllle, S, C.
Huff Wyndottes; S. C. White and
Huff Leghorns, Stock and eggs at
bargain prices also O. I. C. hogs,
W. E. Carroll, Normandy, Tenn.,
Route No. 1.
For Sale?Jig Saw, cost $90.00, will
sell for $40.00. Six Inch Moulder,
cost $300.00, will sell for $140.00.
Host condition. J. H. Cole, Randleman,
N. C.
For Quick Salo?Six million feet fine
uubled long leaf timber. Prices
and terms right to party meaning
business. McCallum Realty Co.,
Sumter, S. C.
For Sale S. C. R. I. Reds, White
and Hrown Leghorns, Black Langshang,
Plymouth Rocks. Eggs for
setting, 15 for $1. M. B. Grant,
Darlington, S. C.
Eggs in inculmtor lots or single sittings
from S. C. Reds, $1.50 per
15; $8.00 per hundred. Nice cockerels,
$2.00 each. Eugenia Hammond,
North Augusta, S. C.
Cabbage Plants?65c thousand, for
'balance this season; oldest grower
here; Flshel White Itock ecgs. $1
per 13, from beautiful birds. Tlios.
W. lllitch, Young's Island, S. C.
For Sale?On account of consolidation,
will sell large or small Steel
Screw Door Manganese Bank Safe,
also Vault Doors. Best condition.
The Peoples Bank, Handleman, N.
C.
The Iattle Tell Tale which tells the
Truth. A complete egg record of
the day, the week, the month, and
the year. Price 10c. Address,
Mrs. M. B. Roberts, Dade City,
Fla.
Fight to ten dollars week made, spare
time, man or woman, each locality,
attend advertising material,
make reports, represent us. Excliange
Agency Brokers, London,
Canada.
Girl or Woman?each locality, good
pay made acting as representative,
address envelopes, fold, mail
circulars, material, stamps, furnished
free. Rex Mailing Agency.
London, Ontario.
For Sale?Whippoorwill Peas, $2.25
per bushel; Clay Mixed Peas, $2.10
per bushel; Ripper Mixed Peas,
$2.10 per bushel. Write for prices
In large quantities. F. A. Bush
Co., Preston, Ga.
11 roils V (' ircd Sbnrlnnoc nf t r.
relieved 'n 3 6 to 4 8 hourB. Reduces
swelling in 15 to 20 dayj.
Call or write Collum Dropsy Remedy
Company, Dept. O 512 Austell
Rldg., Atlanta Ga.
Dobbs' Single Comb Rhode Island
Reds and "Crystal" White Orpingtons
win and lay when others
fail, stock and eggs for sale. Send
for mating list. G. A. Dobbs, Box
B. 24. Gainesville, Ga.
Wanted?Men and ladies to take
three months practical course. Expert
management. High salaried
positions guaranteed. Write for
catalogue now. Charlotte Telegraph
School, Charlotte, N. C.
Wanted?Men to take thirty days'
practical course in our machine
shops and learn automobile business.
Positions secured graduates,
$25 per week and up. Charlotte
Auto School, Charlotte, N. C.
Reds, Both Combs?First winners
at the greatest shows in the United
States, 1st cockerel in class, 127
Reds, Silver cup for best cockerel,
in show. Medal for best cockerel
of all breeds, lblO, Tennessee and
Indiana State fairs. Catalogue.
| tMrs. Emily Gibson, Portland, Tenn.
Ijtney's Improve*] Cotton Seed?Plant
the best. Won first prize from
Planters' Phosphate Company, ot
Charleston. S. C., and State Fair
Association for largest yield. Small
variety, very early. 40 per cent
lint. $1.00 per bu.; 10 bu., 90c.
R. B. Laney, lit. 1, Cheraw, S. C.
Seven per cent prime cotton sei d
meal, car load fifteen ton minimum
car at $25.50 per ton car Augusta,
$2fi.00 Savannah or Charleston.
Above any quantity from ono to
twenty cars. Let us quote you
hulls delivered your station. The
Flash Hunter Com. Co., Atlanta,
(la.
I'or Sale?Selected Marlboro Prolific
Seed Corn, first at Georgia expciiment
stations tests last year, and
the blue ribbon variety for many
years past. Bushel, $2.00; half
bushel, $1.25; peck, 75c. Pure
%
LEE'S HEADAi
NEURAL(
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Cures Headache and Neuralgia
ous testimonials on file in our ofllce
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(Signed) H
Sold everywhere. Frice 25c and 50c.
Burwell & Dunn C
No. 14 McWl
Fertilizer E
will distribute in two furrows from
side and top dress growing crops, oi
Price f. o. b. Factory
$35.00.
Other machines both larger and sm
selves in the saving of labor. If yc
do without this distributer. Ord<
W. M. Patrick, V
Money Maker Cotton Seed at $1.00.
J. H. Myers, Sumter, S. C., R. F.
D. No. 4.
For Sale?1,900 acres fine land,
1,200 acres open; good six-room
house, 25 tenant houses, $10,000
worth of personal proj?erty goes
with the land. Price $10,000, i
terms easy. Take this and double '
your money. Rent for 1911, 75 I
bales cotton. P. B. Williford, j
Amerlcus, Oa.
!
(;<hx1 Live Agents wanted in every j
town to sell a meritorious line of
medicines extensively advertised |
and used by ever family and in 1
the stable. An exceptional oppor- j
tunity for the right parties to
make good money. Write at once j
for proposition to L. B. Martin,
Box 110, Richmond, Va.
If you want more money for your
cotton crop, plant "Acme Upland
Ivong Staple. Very productive
superior staple Two bales (1023
lbs) this variety sold in Boston,
Nov., 1910, for $281.32. Seed
$1.50 per bushel, 10 or more bushels,
$1.25. Address A. M. Huggins,
Lamar, S. C. Reference:
Merchants & Planters Bank, Lamar,
S. C.
Eggs?Barred Plymouth Rocks. Buff
Plymouth Rocks, Rose Comb R. I.
Reds. Acknowledged to be the
three best general purpose fowls
yet developed. Our pens are composed
of the cream of last year's
stock, all selected with the view
of keeping up our wonderful e?g
yield of the past. Our birds car
riert orr a long string of prizes during
the past show season and we
can give the best quality to be
found. Kggs for hatching, $2.50
per 15, Rend in orders now for
future delivery. West Raleigh
Poultry Farms, R. M. Parker, Mgr.
West Raleigh, N. C.
The Primitive Man.
"Jones is so dreadfully primitive!"
"What's his latest?"
"Why, we were at the opera house
the other night and a stage hand removed
a table and Jones yelled,
'Supe, supe!' We were dreadfully
mortified."
"I was at a dinner the other night
and Jones sat next to me. When he
saw the row of spoons and forks and
knives beside his plate he beckoned
to the waiter. 'Say, boy,' he hoarsely
muttered, 'I guees you spilled the
spoon holder!' "
Marries Chinese.
At Vancouver, R. C., Mis* Anita
Dosehontz, actress, aged 22, was married
to I.ew Ling, a wealthy Chine.-o
merchant of lioquiam. Wash. The
girl is of Spanish descent and har
home is in Pltttiburg, Pa.
CHE AND
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ly Speedily
no matter what the cause. Numer- ^
bear us out in this statement. ^
from headache for 12 years and
run its course or take morphine.
Remedy and found permanent rethink
T have ever tried.
. A. QANDY,
Hartsvllle. S. C.
Manufactured by
/O*)
Charlotte, N. C.
tiorter Horse
)istributer
i 3 up to 5 feet or more wide.
broadcast perfectly 6 feet wide
, i ^.WL %
v' ** ~
Hopper capacity
25<) lbs. fertiliser.
aller. They soon pay for them>u
use fertilizer you can't afford to
:r today. Adcress,
Woodward, S. C.
DON'T SUFFER WITH
Rheumatism
It is the most distressing and
discouraging of all troubles.
Nine cases out of ten can be
cured by Noah's Liniment.
Where there is no swelling
or fever a few applications will
relieve you. It penetrates?
does not evaporate like other
remedies?requires little
rubbing.
Noah's Liniment Is tho best remedy for
Rheumatism, Sciatica. lame Hack, Stiff
Joints ami Muscles, Soro Throat, Colds,
Strains,'Sprains, Cuts,
Bruises, Colic, Cramps,
Neuralgia, Toothache, C3E5E21EJ I '
and all Nerve, Done P^5fiS T*|
and Muscle Aches and IkSmkCJ I
Bains. The genuine has I I
Noah's Ark on every | ~ _T| HH
package and looks Uko nTJWSVJ I..."
this cut, but hasKKD lt |lfl||HI
bund on front of pack- |LL?/?JIEJ I
ago and "Noah's Lini- llnfHHui H
mint" always In RKD LJiiiiJulill I '
Ink. Hewaro of lmlta- ? r--? I
Hons. Large lottle, 25 rot am M *? |.
cents, and sold by all sxiaoa. I
diailcrs In mo d 1 c I n o. I
Guaranteed or money I
r o f u n d o d by Noah ? , Mj,i~iam
Remedy Co., Inc., ? H
Richmond, Vs. HP
Killed by ? Toucher.
At Tonnille, On., I)r. T. J. Kelley
was shot and instantly killed Thursday
by Nathan L. Johnson, superintendent
of Tonnille institute. Tho
punishment of Dr. Kelley's son at the
institute, it is said, led to the trouble,
the culmination of which was
Thursday's tragedy. Friends had
tried to settle the trouble, hut when
the disputants met on the street
Thursday the killing occurred.
Shoots IIis Friend.
Falling bo give the countersign
upon being signalled, William Stephens
was shot Tuesday night and
killed by his friend, Kamhert H.own
at Natchotoches, La. Trouble had
been feared and a guard was placed
about the sawmill property where the
men worked, the employees agreeing
upon a countersign. Why Ilrnwi
failed to respond to the challenge is
not known.
Now is a good time to clean up
around the yard and whitewash
fonees and out houses. It may save
you a case of sickness or two.