Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1859-03-17
The Body Of Thurston, the Lost Aerossut,
FOUNDI --.--3

7
A telegraph dispatch from Toledo, dated
March 8. to the Fort Wayne Daily Re
publicon, gives the following account Of
the finding of the body Of Thurston, the
lost Aeronaut:
1t was rumorcd last night that the body
of Mr.. Thurston, who was carried mp by
balloon last fall, had been found. and this
morning we were called upon by Mr.. Drake
Covert. who lives near the spot where the
remains were discovered, from whom we
learn the full particulars of the finding,
On Sunday afternoon son of Mr.. Hoag
was searching in a piece of woods for some
! lost sheep on the farm Of Mr.. Salmon Miner.
situated on the Indiana road about 6 or Z
miles from this city. In his search he PEN
etratcd thicket OF brushwood on knoll
surrounded by wet land and there at the
Z foot of a large Oak tree, he discovered ar
ticles of clothing. bones. &C.. which satis-
fed him that dismemberet human body
had decayed and portions of it been eaten
there by animals. 1t was near dark and
the boy returned with all speed to the house
with the news, too late to prosecute the cx-
animation further that night and twas post
poned till morning. 1t was then remem-
bered that one OF the boys about Il years Of
age, had on the 10th Of September last, at
just about the spot, seen something fa)l in
that piece of woods. His attention wss st-
tracted by previous whistling noise as of
some large bird passing over and looked up
in time to see something fall among the
trees. He thought it was kite. II now
1 seems that aneighbor's boy sawfhe balloon
/ pass over at the same time at a great height,
and supposed, it to be a kite, but having
doubts about it, asked The family how high
"a kite could fly describing at the same time
/ the object he had seen. e. e-i e. heilHns
+ On yesterday morning the neighbors were
called, and party proceeded to the spot
where the boy had found the remains. The
spot is about so or60 rods south ofthe In
diana roads on Mr.. Miners farm, about
half way between the houses Of Hoag sad
Miner. .ss..r 3. so;ssia.bs sfs
There were portions of a human body,
without doubt scattered around near the
place above mentioned. Close by the tree
and imbcdded in the earth was found the
jaw bone, broken or matted hair partly in
the earth. About two rods from the tree
was found one of the boots of the person
containing foot nearly perfect but much
decayed and portion of the shin bone
with flesh adhering to it. The boot had
been gnawed and evidently the flesh had
been eaten by hogs or wild animals. The
other boot was near by. Portions of the
spine were also found scattered about and
several of the nails, teeth, DC. and parts Of
the skull were lying near. The clothes
were however the means of identifying the
body, they being not SO much. destroyed
} but that their texture could be discovered.
The pants were of a. small check or plaid
pattern The shirt was considerably rot
ted. The coat seemed to be snuff -colored,
, and black silk handkerchief was found
tied as it was on the neck
Inthe pockets Of the clothing were found
lepine silver watch, jacknife and buck
skin purse containing 81 &c in money
A pair of gloves were found in one of the
coat pockets and in another a letter and
several cards. The letter after drying was
readable and was found to be directed to
At. Thurston. 1t was from Philadel.
phia house in reply to some enquiries hs
had made about silk for balloon. From
The cards, letters and memoranda it is rem
dered if not certain extremely probable
that the body here scattered about was thst
of MIR. Thurston, last seen near Knights
station on the 10th of Sept. last, when
carried away by the escaped. balloon, dash
ed to pieces and those pieces gnawed By
le ~, t1,t e,o1.,J.J IL t4sE f.tt-
1t viii be remembered that Mr.. Thurs
ton was seated on the valve clasping the
silk with his arms whenlast seen. When
the balloon was found at West Tilbury,
Canada, the disk of the valve was then
torn off three -fourths of the way around.
When at the great height at which the lit
tie boy thought that immense balloon was
kite almost out Of sight, the silk around
its valve must have given away, precipits-
ting Thurston to the earth s 80 ssash
The calculations of his friends based up
on his probable powers of endurance, led
the search far beyond where his mutilated
remains lay. The woods was frequentsd
during the past winter by rabbit hunters.
and Mr. Miner had hauled wood near, By
the thicket, but the wet nature of, the
ground around the knoll and the thick
brushwood, naturally turned aside all pass.
ers by. The balloon ascended from Adri-
au atl9 o'clock on the 10Th of Sept 1sss,
with Messrs. Bannister and Thmston N L.
Descending on the farm of Mr.. j. Dines.
in Ogden, near Knights station, about 10
o'clock. and the escapade occurred at about
1O4 O'Clock, owing to the removal of the
car ropes and other weights while Mr..
Thurston was trying to open ths vslvs
when, as bystanders expressed it the bsl-
loon bounded up like rocket carrying
Mr. Thurston as above stated. -,
1t must have been within 20 or 50 MIN
utes of this time that the valve gave oSsy
and he fell. This discovery merely giv9
a certainty to his friends and relations ct
what was before an unknown fate,
..