WHILE VAN TASSEL was traveling all corners of the Eastern Hemisphere from 1894 to 1900, those with prior association to Van Tassel also continued their exhibitions. Following the economic depression of the 1890s, many of these aeronauts returned to San Francisco at about the same time as Van Tassel, eager to continue to make their living as the United States recovered.
The Viola Sisters
Ruby Hawker (performing as Millie Viola) was one of three sisters who began jumping from balloons with parachutes. Lillian Mary Hawker1 made balloon ascensions and parachute jumps as Leila Adair in New Zealand at Takapuna (near Auckland), Hamilton, Cambridge, and New Plymouth in March and April 1894.2 A newspaper described her as having a “pale face, with dark restless grey eyes, short brown hair clustering in thick little curls all over a shapely head.”3 At times she also was known as Leila Rayward. She suggested to the papers that she hailed from Texas and reportedly made her first balloon ascent at the age of thirteen with Park Van Tassel at Los Angeles in roughly 1885. However, research suggests that like her sister Ruby, she was born in Australia and somehow came to the United States at a young age. Adair confirmed in the Sydney Evening News in 1895 that Viola had made her first successful parachute descent from a balloon at Chicago in 1888.4 Adair also said she made her first parachute jump from a balloon with Van Tassel’s assistance in the Black Hills of South Dakota, although there are no known reports of Van Tassel ever traveling to South Dakota. A reporters recalled her story:
It was very windy, and a first experiment at making their own gas. Everything went wrong, and when 6 o’clock came there was no sign of the balloon ascending. The crowd comprising [of] miners and cowboys, grew more and more impatient, and would listen to no explanation, though Van Tassel promised a free show [the] next day. They gathered round shouting “Imposters! Let us lynch the man, and duck the woman in the nearest sluicing-pond! Let us tear their balloon to pieces!” The latter was made of silk and worth 3000dol. I suggested to Van Tassel to get right away—a woman alone might stand some chance. All the afternoon I had been waiting in my little American buggy, the bag with the takings between my feet. Out west they are a wild, lawless lot. I had two loaded revolvers in the buggy, and knew how to use them. So I just stood up with one in each hand and explained that “I meant to have twelve lives before any man touched me or my balloon . . . . I am an American woman, utterly alone [a]mong American men, and instead of threatening you or to take the horses out and drag my buggy along, because of my pluck in risking my neck for your amusement, as I will do to-morrow.” This seems to have touched them in the right place, and the end was that the mob almost fought for the honor of dragging her buggy to the inn. And the following day, when she landed with her balloon in an ash tree, the very men who had been ready for any violence cut down the big limb where she caught, and insisted on carrying her along seated on it, making a fresh collection for her as they went amounting to 3000dol.5
Prior to her jumps in New Zealand, Adair reportedly toured through California, Australia, and China and made a parachute descent at Hong Kong. On May 24, 1892, she returned to the profession at Bendigo, Australia, while her manager ran off with the gate receipts. At Dubbo in New South Wales she made an attempt, but the balloon caught fire on the way up and she descended unharmed. After the passing of her husband, in 1894 she made an extensive tour of New Zealand and for ten months made descents at Te Aroha, Cambridge, Wellington, and many other locations. At Christchurch she nearly met with disaster: during liftoff of the balloon, her parachute caught a guide wire and pulled her back to Earth, causing a fall of 40 feet. She remained unconscious for a week but survived.
Adair’s background was made even less clear when in 1895 she noted to the Sydney Evening News, “Though my professional name is Adair, I am Prof. Price’s sister, not his wife as has been stated, so I reckon it’s just as well to set that right.”6 While there is no known direct familial relation to James Price, it is indeed unusual that Price had performed previously in Utah with Millie Viola but that Leila Adair had apparently learned the art of ballooning from Park Van Tassel, despite Millie Viola and Leila Adair actually being Hawker sisters from Australia.
To add even further confusion, a third Hawker sister, Ethel Harriet Hawker,7 also born in Australia, eventually followed her sisters into the profession, performing as Essie Viola. In May 1895, Essie ascended in her balloon at Gympie, Queensland, only to have both the balloon and the parachute catch fire at 1,000 feet. She jumped anyway and made it back to Earth without serious injury.8 A reporter noted,
Just at the instant that the balloon was let go it swayed heavily about, and displacing the damper used for regulating the flame, caught fire as it shot into the air. Miss Millie, her sister, tried to seize her, but the intrepid young aeronaut would not be stayed, and she went up like a rocket. But she did not come down like a stick. Hanging by her feet, she went nearly half a mile and then commenced to drift away from the river, where she started. At this stage the balloon, which at the start was noticed to be on fire, became a blazing mass, extending towards the parachute. Seeing the situation of affairs, there was intense excitement among the spectators. The huge balloon descended [in] literally one mass of flames, with the frail girl waving her handkerchief in the most fearless manner. No help was possible until the earth was reached. Down the balloon came, and was etched with intense anxiety, until the intervening trees hid the spirited young lady and her blazing chariot from view. Long before the numbers of people were following her, to give all of the assistance possible, and she was extricated from the burning mass as soon as she touched the ground. On regaining a footing on the solid earth in a most nonchalant manner she requested the bystanders try to save her parachute. The balloon was utterly destroyed, and the parachute badly damaged.9
Later in 1895, Essie traveled from Australia to San Francisco and announced to the press that she would ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel, well before anyone had accomplished the feat. To make things even more dangerous, it was proposed that the barrel be dropped by balloon into the river before going over the falls.10
With no protective equipment, Sam Patch had survived a plunge after jumping from a platform into the Niagara River near the base of Horseshoe Falls in 1829. Later in 1829, Patch died after jumping into the icy waters of the Genesee River in upstate New York. In 1886 Carlisle Graham made two successful rides through the rapids at the base of Niagara Falls in a barrel, but a planned trip over the falls was never actually made. Graham’s journey generated considerable publicity. For Essie to propose doing this in 1895 was considered rather preposterous. Reporters from the San Francisco Call quoted Essie as saying,
I have been just crazy to go over the falls . . . ever since I heard four years ago that man Graham had done it. He was knocked senseless, you know, and otherwise injured, and I almost hoped he would die, so that I might be the first to do it successfully. But I’ll be the first woman to do it, anyway, and I’m going to bet every cent I’ve got that I don’t get hurt a bit. You don’t think betting is wrong, do you? Yes, four years is a long time to wait for the chance, but until now something always prevented. We had engagements ahead for balloon ascensions, and . . . I wanted to see everything since I have had enough of the colonies and want to stay in America for the rest of my life.11
She continued to describe her time in New Zealand: “We, my sister and I, made several ascensions there. One time she came down among the Maoris. They thought her the angel from heaven which, they say, will come to help them drive the British from their land and they hurried her away into the interior. We had to get the mounted police and call out the volunteers before we could get her back.”12
For her Niagara attempt, she planned to team up with Robert Earlston, who would be in charge of the balloon that dropped the barrel into the Niagara River, with the event managed by a man named Major Clemens. But no records of any attempts by Viola at Niagara can be found. Perhaps she learned at a later date that Graham had not actually gone over the falls as she had supposed. It wasn’t until 1901 that the first person went over the falls in a barrel. That was Annie Edson Taylor, who survived the trip on her birthday, October 24, in 1901. In 1911 Bobby Leach was the second person to make it successfully over the falls in a barrel.
By January 1896, both Essie and Millie Viola were living in San Francisco and making regularly scheduled balloon ascensions and parachute drops very near where the “Baldwin brothers” and Van Tassel had made the first leap. For instance, in late January 1896, several thousand spectators gathered at the Haight Street Grounds in the afternoon, with some assisting with balloon inflation. But when the balloon was half-inflated, rains came and most spectators left. Undeterred, the Viola sisters continued with the balloon inflation and at 4:30 p.m. the balloon was ready to go. Essie appeared on the scene “accompanied by her sister and a curly-haired little boy.”13 She kissed the boy and her sister and took her position on the trapeze. At the order of “Let go,” all the ropes were released and the balloon slowly rose northward. At just about 15 feet of elevation, Essie leaned backward to turn on the bar, and all of a sudden the parachute unexpectedly released from the balloon. Essie hit the ground and was covered by the parachute while the balloon continued to rise skyward. She complained of pain in her back and her head.14
During Essie’s recovery, Millie planned a balloon launch for February 2, 1896, but the balloon caught fire before it could be released.15 In April 1896, Essie returned to the spotlight, performing once again with a balloon ascension and parachute drop at Chutes Park south of San Francisco.16 She also made an ascension at the Haight Street Grounds in late April, coming down via parachute on a street near the end of the panhandle of what is now Golden Gate Park. Similar jumps continued sporadically into July 1896.17
James Price
After parting ways with the Van Tassell Troupe, James Price continued touring Western Australia. He moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a period of four years, ending in November 1895.18 He noted,
I was born . . . in Springfield, Illinois, about 185 miles from Chicago, and I showed in America for seven years before I went abroad. About six years ago I decided to have a spin round the world, and in November, 1889, I struck my first port, Honolulu. It was on November 16 of that year that King Kalakaua’s birthday was being celebrated, and in honour of the event I went up in the balloon and came down in the parachute. I made several ascents in the capital of Hawaii, and there I met with a great misfortune in the loss of my partner, Joe Van Tassel, who was blown out to sea, and eaten up by sharks before he could be reached. I have a mortal horror of sharks since then. Leaving there I came to Australia, and Van Tassel (a brother) and I, together with Miss Viola, Miss Leila Adair and the Freties [sic] Sisters, known as the Van Tassels, made several ascents. From Australia I went through the Straits settlements, and showed at Java, Sourabaya [sic], Batavia, Singapore, where I gave an exhibition before the Sultan of Jahore. At Siam I appeared before the King. Through India I had a successful career and then went on to Ceylon, where I appeared before Sir Arthur Havelock at Colombo. I then visited the Mauritius and after Madagascar. At the latter place Queen Ranavalona II sent the natives 250 miles to bring me before her, and she was delightfully pleased. From there I went to South Africa, and stopped there nearly four years.19
My experiences in South Africa were very favourable. I made my first ascent in October, 1891, when I went aloft from Pietermaritzburg. From there I went to Durban, in Natal, and from there to Johannesburg, in the Transvaal. I had great difficulty in making an ascent in Johannesburg, as the altitude is so great, something like 6000ft. above sea-level. The air is so light that the balloon would not go higher than 500ft . . . . Altogether I made over 32 ascents in the town, and was presented with a gold clasp imitation of a balloon as a memento of my 32nd ascent. In Pretoria . . . I was introduced to President Kruger, General Joubert, and some members of the Volksraad.20
Back in Australia, on Boxing Day 1895, Price made a balloon ascension and parachute jump from an altitude of 8,000 feet at Clifton Gardens in Sydney. He was hailed in the papers as an American hero, an aeronaut with more than five hundred successful balloon ascents to his name.21 Returning once again to Hawaii, Price made a balloon ascension and parachute jump at Remond Grove on George Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1896.22 On the previous evening, at 7:00 p.m., Price had sent aloft a paper balloon from the corner of Fort and Beretania Streets to test the winds aloft.23 While two trains were arranged to carry spectators to the location, “neither train was crowded due, possibly, from the fact that people who take an interest in aerostatics had not recovered from the shock experience at Van Tassell’s death a half dozen years ago.”24 Inflation of the smoke balloon began under the direction of Price and a man named Willifred Burns. There was a light southerly breeze that day and no danger of Price being carried out to sea. Despite this, Price indicated that if there was a trajectory that took him toward the sea, he would release at 500 feet and come down by parachute right away. At 4:20 p.m. the balloon was ready. Price sat on the trapeze bar and gave word to let go. “It was a fascinating sight but to those who had seen [Joe] Van Tassell go to his death there was a certain unconquerable awe about it all that was appalling.”25 At an elevation of 3,000 feet, Price released and made a graceful descent back to Earth. The balloon gradually collapsed and soon followed. A Pearl City pineapple farmer reached Price about the time he landed.26
In March 1896, a newspaper announced that James Price had joined with the Wirth Circus Company and would leave Hawaii for a tour of Japan to provide balloon and parachute exhibitions.27 He returned to the Hawaiian Islands later that summer. On August 29, 1896, at Wailuku, Maui, he filled his balloon and at 6:00 p.m. was launched. At an altitude of about 130 feet, the balloon burst, collapsing nearly instantaneously. Whether this was planned to avoid a trajectory to the ocean or was accidental, Price immediately cut away with the parachute. However, the damp parachute did not open and Price “shot like an arrow” to the ground.28 Very fortunately, he landed in a large mango tree in the yard of tax collector W. M. Robinson. The branches broke his fall, and with the exception of a swollen eye and facial bruises, he survived the event without other physical harm. He returned to Honolulu aboard the steamer Hall on September 1.29
Thomas Baldwin
After he jumped from Van Tassel’s balloon with a parachute in 1887 at San Francisco, Thomas Baldwin went to Quincy, Illinois, to make additional jumps and from there embarked on a whirlwind tour of England from July through September 1888. He made more than ten jumps in London alone, with wide publicity across England, even performing for Parliament and Prince Albert Edward of Wales. While in England, he proceeded to patent the flexible parachute design that he had coinvented with Van Tassel. The application for “Improvements in Parachutes” was made on July 28, 1888, and the specification was accepted on October 19, 1888. British patent no. 10,937 was coauthored by Guillermo Antonio Farini and Baldwin. While Farini had many patents to his name, none of his other patents had anything to do with parachutes. So it is likely that without Van Tassel’s knowledge, Baldwin found someone in London familiar with the patent process and paid him to develop the patent as a “coinventor” so that Baldwin could protect his position while providing lucrative demonstrations throughout the British colonies. It remains unknown if or when Park Van Tassel became aware of this patent.
From England, Baldwin traveled to other parts of Europe, making additional jumps and then touring South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand before returning to Quincy, Illinois in December 1888. Within this short span, Baldwin became an international sensation. In the summer and fall of 1889, he was joined by William Ivy.30 They made a tour of the American West, including the 1889 New Mexico Territorial Fair at Albuquerque. “Professor” Baldwin planned smoke balloon ascents with parachute drops. Taking advantage of the special exhibition, Albuquerque saloonkeepers hiked the price of a glass of beer from five to ten cents. His first ascent was scheduled for October 2.31 Unfortunately, Baldwin could not get his balloon inflated properly and so could not launch. He explained that he had forgotten to take into consideration Albuquerque’s rarified air and promised to do better the next day. On his next attempt, Baldwin managed a proper inflation. Several hundred men held down the balloon until he arrived. He looked at his balloon and exclaimed, “Oh, ain’t she a dandy. Who says we ain’t going high this time?” He then attached himself to the balloon with ropes and shouted, “Let her go!” As the balloon began to rise, the ropes broke and Baldwin dropped to the ground, landing unceremoniously on his posterior. The balloon went off without him. Things went better during his third attempt. On the final day of the fair, he soared to 3,000 feet and redeemed himself in the eyes of the public.32
Drawing for “Improvements in Parachutes” from British patent no. 10,397, submitted by Thomas Baldwin and Guillermo Farini, accepted on October 19, 1888. British Library Business and Intellectual Property Reference Service.
After their American West tour, the “Baldwin brothers” went on to Japan, performing in large cities through the spring of 1890. From there they performed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, then Singapore, the Straits Settlements, Java, Burma, and India. In late spring 1891, Thomas returned back to Quincy with his wife for the birth of their first child, while Ivy continued making exhibitions in India. Ivy too returned to Quincy in September 1891. By 1897, both Ivy and Baldwin had returned to California, making exhibitions in the Bay Area.33
Professor Lawrence
Professor Lawrence also continued his exhibitions in India and Southeast Asia. In Singapore, on January 6, 1894, he made a balloon ascension from the grounds of the Chinese Club and descended by parachute. The crowd was somewhat smaller than expected, and the balloon rose to a height of only 20 feet. He tried again the following day but a large hole burst on the side of the balloon. But he did manage to make an ascension and parachute jump on the third day, without much of a crowd in attendance.34 In 1897 Lawrence made a parachute jump at Naini Tal in India, rising to 7,000 feet into a heavy downpour with the balloon disappearing in the rain and clouds. He returned to Earth safely via parachute, but the balloon was ruined.35
Fannie Van Tassell
In Unionville, Ontario, at central Canada’s Great Fair, another “Van Tassell” was at work. On September 18, 1895, a Fannie Van Tassell gave a balloon ascension and parachute jump for the crowd.36 There is also a record of Fannie providing a balloon ascension and jump at the North Adams Fair during the same time period.37 Any relation between Fannie and Park Van Tassel remains unknown.
The method of parachuting from balloons popularized by Baldwin and Van Tassel in San Francisco had spread worldwide, bringing considerable fame and imitation. Yet, as more and more aeronauts attempted daring acts, the financial rewards decreased and the novelty of the approach waned. However, San Francisco remained a central hub of technology and innovation. It was not by chance that many returned to the Bay Area, eager to be part of the next gold rush in the sky.