MISS LEILA ADAIR.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4738, 5 June 1894, Page 3

MISS LEILA ADAIR.

s Some Startling Adventures Miss Leila Adair, who makes n hnl- ' loon nsccnl liere on Thursday next, lint 1 Inul some very narrow escapes in tin course- of her cxjicricuee. At Mudgee, , llie lialloou caught lire shorllj [ after leaving (lie ground, and the nseenl , wasmadewith sparks and bnriiingmaler- , ial fnllitig nliont lier, until high enough to make tiio parachute jump. Of the thousands of pcoplo who watched the ascension with nwe-strnck intensity, then 1 were not half a dozen who expected to see the intrepid young artist again, and as a matter of fact, she did go out ol sight, going right through a heavy hank of clouds, which extinguished the llrc.oi otherwise it is doubtful whether Miss Adair would havo ever made another balloon ascent. At Auckland the descent occurred in the Jtnngitolo channel, a mile and a quarter from the shore, after an ascent of 11,500 feet. JnTe Aroha, the middlo of the Wailii received the parachute, and in Hamilton, the balloon was struck by an ice current, in the upper atmosphere which caused it to burst with a report that was heard distinctly on the ground. Previous to this accident, 27 balloons have burst in the air, and Miss Adair is the first performer who lias come out of the wreck alive. Of the other artistes 25 were killed outright, and one had his hack injured so that he died a few days afterwards. Had Miss Adair been like the oilier balloonist* and lost her presence of mind, undoubtedly she would have been disabled, bid possessing as she does an extraordinary amount of courage and an indomitable will, Miss Adair never lost her head for a moment and treating the burst in a scientific manner, and by sheer force of will she managed to escape with her life and a few frilling injuries. Two days after, the balloon being mended, she ascended about 5,000 ft at Cambridge and came down crashing through the tops of some very tall poplar trees and was suspended with the support of only one arm, for nearly a quarter of an hour, before assistance reached her. At Wnnguimi the wind took her in a slanting direction, and after a rather perilous journey past chimneys and llagstaft's landed in a fig free, At I'almcrston she had one of the most pleasant landings she has had ill A'ew Zealand, receiving only one or two bruises, At the Thames, through the dampers not being properly at t einlc(l to, she rose through a sheet of llame 30 feet high. _ lieferring to this ascent on the Paraivai racecourse, IhcTfamatilar says The word " Let go," was then given, and the icronaut swung gracefully into the air, the ascent being watched with the keenest interest. ''Goodbye," she cheerily cried after attaining a height of about 100 feet and the remark was re-echoed by numbers of the spectators. The balloon ascended slowly and gracefully to a considerable height, variously estimated at from 1000 to 151)0 feet, until a light breeze from the north-west, caused it to gently drift across the Kauaerauga river, and over the hill opposite the racecourse. It there commenced to descend, and immediately upon observing this, Miss Adair availed herself of the parachute, which becoming expanded, decreased the rale at which she was coming down and she landed safely amongst Hie li-lree," As the ascent on Thursday will bo tlio only one the charming young artist will give in this district, no doubt she will lie supported as her youth and pluck deserve.