The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1859-07-22
Wlse's Narrative of the Balloon Voyage.

fishes narrative of the Atlantic's trip
from the pen of John Wise, one of the
;eronauts, the latter part Of which we copy: |
On Saturday at 1920 a. IN, we were
skirting along the Canada shore, and pass
ed near the mouth of the Welland canal,
and soon began to take Buffalo in our track
but we circled up into it between Buffalo
and Niagara Falls, crossing Grand Island,
leaving Buffalo to the right and Lockport
to the left of us. In our onward course,
| finding ourselves in the State of New York
it was agreed that we should make land
ing rear Rochester, detach the boat, leave
out Mr.. wager and Mr.. Hyde, and Mr.. La
Mountain and myself pursue the voyage to
a point at Boston or Portland. Accord
ingly we descended gradually, but before
we got to within a thousand feet of the
earth, we found most terrible gale sweep
ing along below The surface of the earth
was filled with clouds of dust, and l told
my friends certain destruction awaited us,
if we should touch the earth in that lorna
do. The huge Atlantic was making ter
rible sweep earthward. Already we were
near the tops of trees of tall forest, and
cried out somewhat excitedly, for Gods
sake heaye overheard anything you can
lay your hands on La Mountain. and in
another moment he responded all right,
standing on the side of the boat with a
shaft and wheels intended for the working
Of the fan wheels, and ready to heave it
should it be necessary.
Mr.. Hyde looked up to my car and very
solemnly said, "This is an exciting time
Professor. What shall we do?" "Trust
to Providence and all our energies" said
/. We were fast running on to Lake On
tario, and oh how terrible It was feaming
moaning and bowling. said, "La Noun
tain, have $50 pounds of ballast in my
car yet, and heavy valise, an express bag
sent by the U. S. Express Co., and a lot
of provisions. Well, if that wont do [ will
cut up the boat for ballast, and we can
keep above water until we reach the OPP
posite Shore" which was near hundred
miles off in the direction we were going.
Here | handed my ballast down to La
Mountain, as we were rapidly mounting
above the terrific gale, believing by that
course we should at least get out of the
main track. Everything now indicated
that we should perish in the water or on
the land, and only salvation was to keep
afloat until we got out of the gale, if we
could. said, "you must all get into the
basket if you want to be saved, should we
ever reach land-and l truly tell you, the
perils of the land are even more terrible
than those of the water, with our machines
and it would be easier to meet death by
drowning than to have our bodies mangled
by dashing against rocks and trees"
By this time Mr.. eager and Mr.. Hyde
had clambered irto the basket with me.
Mr.. Hyde said, very coolly, Il am pre-
pared to die, but | would rather die on
land than in the water" [ said, What
do you say, Mr.. Gager!" He replied, al
would rather meet it on land, but do as
YOU think best Mr.. La Mountain was
busily engaged in collecting what he could
for ballast. Everything was now valuable
to US that had weight. Our carpet bags,
our instruments, the express bag, our pro-
visions, were all ready to go. and 90 they
did, one after another, until we were re-
duced to the express bag; that went over
board last.
We deserted the shore, some forty miles
ahead, peering between sombre bank
of clouds and the water horizon, but we
were sweeping at fearful rate upon the
turbulent water, and in a another moment
crash went the boat upon the water, side
wise, staving in two of the planks, and
giving our whole craft two fearful jerks by
two succeeding waves. La Mountain
stuck to the boat like hero, but lost his
hat, and got a dash of the waves, but soon
recovered and threw over the express bag,
and last remaining ballast, and cried out,
" Be easy, gentlemen, I'll have her afloat
once more.' In another moment we were
up few hundred feet again, and the steam
propeller was lacking across our track.
now proposed to swamp the boat and
balloon in the lake and trust to being pick
ed up by the Young America, but the de-
sire was we should make the shore aud try
the land, and as we crossed the bow of
the steamer they gave us hearty hurrah
La Mountain had now cut out of the boat
all he could, and we were within fifteen
miles of the shore, and the gale still rag
ing below. La Mountain might have re-
manned in the boat below and jumped out
| HISh tooNhihS Cdi saw uO I'LL
propriety in that, as then we might have
had another hour or two to wait the luIine
of the gale-but he said he would share
our fate, and he clambered into the basket
just as we were reaching the land.
saw by the swaying to and fro of the
lofty trees into which we must inevitably
dash, that our worst perils were at hand
but l still had blind hope that we would
be saved. | ordered two men on the valve
rope, and we struck within a hundred
yards of the water, among some scattered
trees; our hook, which was of inch and a
quarter iron, breaking like a pipe stem at
the first catch of it in tree, and we were
hurting through tree tops at fearful rate
After dashing along this way for nearly
a mile. crashing and breaking down trees,
; we were dashed most fearfully into the
boughs of tall elm, SO that the basket
swung under and up through thecrotch of
the limb, and while the boat had caught
in some of the other branches This
brought us too little, but in another mo-
ment the Atlantic pulled up her huged pro-
portions, and at one swoop away went the