Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1859-03-17
The Finding of Thurston,s Body

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From the Toledo Blade we learn that
portions of the body of Thurston the Ero-
naut have been found on the farm of Mr..
Miner, some seven miles from that city,
on the Indiana road. :.--...
The Balloon ascended from Adrian nj
9 o'clock, on the. 10th of Sept. last, with
Messrs. Bannister and Thurslon in it; de-
scended on the farm of Mr.. ]. Dinge, in
Ogden, near Knights Station, at about 10
o'clock, and the escapade occurred at about
lOa o'clock, owing to the removal of the
car ropes and ether weights, while Mr.,
Thurston was trying 10 open the valve
when, as bystanders. expressed it, the bal
loon bounded up '.like rocket" carrying
Mr. I. as above stated. 1t must have
been within 20 or 80 minutes of this inns
that the waive gave way, and be fell.
~"
On Sunday afternoon, a boy IN search
ing piece OF woods for some lost sheep,
penetrated q thicket of brushwood, on a
knoll surrounded by wet land, and there, ac
the foot of q large oak tree he discovered
articles of clothing, bones, ETC., which sat-
isfed him that dismembered human body
had decayed and portions of it been eaten
there by animals.
On Monday morning, the neighbors pro-
ceeded to the spot There were portions
of human body without doubt, scattered
around near the tree above mentioned
Close by the tree, and inbeded in the earth,,
was found the jaw bone, broken, and mat
ted hair, partly in the earth.. About two
rods from the tree was found one of the
boots of the person, containing ~ foot near
ly perfect, but much decomposed, and a
portion of the shin bone with flesh adher-
ing to it. The boot bad 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 around, and several of the nails,
teeth, etc, 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 tex
ture could be discovered. ,c 4sas
A letter addressed to Thurstou was found
in one of the coat pockets, and from cloths,
cards, letter aud memoranda, it is rendered,
if not certain, extremely probable that the
body there scattered about was that of Mr..
Thurston-last seen near Knights Station
on the 18th of Sept. last, when carried
away by the escaped balloon-dashed to
pieces, and those pieces gnawed by animals
in that secluded thicket. i. l.. r. -se
A boy in the vicinity recollects that he
had, on the 10th of September last-at
just about the time that the balloon should
have passed over the spot-seen some
thing fall in that piece Of woods. His at
tention was attracted by peculiar whistle
ing noise, as of some large bird passing
over, and looked up in time to see some
thing fall among the trees; he thought it
must have been paper balloon, and start
ed after it; but after going part of the
way, he returned to the house. and tried
10 get an older brother to go with him
to the woods after the paper balloon
He was laughed at for wanting to 90 so
ar after bit of paper, and finally gave it
lp. 1t now seems that neighbor's boy
'aw the balloon pass over at the same time,
1t a great hight, and supposed il to be
Kite, but having doubts about it, asked the
amily show high kite could fly" des-
,ribing, at the same time, the object he
,al eaap