Bellingham, Massachusetts – August 24, 1901
Balloon ascending with parachute attached to the side.
At about 4 p.m. on August 24, 1901, three young men hired a boat and rowed about Hoag Lake in Bellingham. About an hour later they stopped rowing and drifted on the water in order to watch a balloon ascension that was scheduled to take place on shore. Once the balloon was aloft and at 3,000 feet, aeronaut William Hayden, professionally known as “Skee”, would drop away with a parachute.
The balloon rose rapidly and drifted out over the lake. When it reached 3,000 feet, Hayden’s business partner, famous aeronaut Leslie haddock, fired a revolver to signal Hayden it was time to drop.
As all this was happening, the three men in the boat all leaned backwards on the same side of the boat with their heads turned upwards towards the balloon. The uneven weight caused the boat to overturn and thus pitched all three into the water at a point about 75 feet from shore. The water there was no deeper than six feet, but the bottom was described by the press as being covered in “treacherous mud”.
The crowds on shore were focused on the balloon and Hayden, and at first nobody realized the accident had occurred. Only two other boats were on the water at that the time and they were not in close proximity.
As the three struggled in the water a boat set out from shore to assist, but by the time it arrived one of the trio had drowned.
Source:
Woonsocket Call, “Drowned In Hoag Lake”, August 26, 1901
