Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1859-07-19
AERIAL NAVIGATION.
rERILous POSITION OF THE AERoSAursl
FuN particulars Of tie Great Toyase


Prof. JOHN WISE, the great Aeronaut. has been
tor some time preparing large balloon at St
Louis. the -4Hd,stic. with view TO reach New
York from ihe former city. and eventually to
cross the Atlantic. Prof. WISE thinks he can
cross the Atlantic in three days time and in
perfect safety. carrying considerable Express
freight and valuables. HIS great trial trip. in
his monster Aeria. Ship. Friday week from
ST. Louis, taking as fellow passengers Messrs
La MOUNTAIN. Gagor. as aeronauts, and Mr.
hyde, the local editor of the ST. Louis Rspub-
ltcdn- These men sailed into the air at 6ia
O'Clock on Friday evening. and during the
night made remarkable slow progress, owing
no doubt, To the cross currents of air and fhe
general quietness of the atmosphere. During
the night Mr.. Wise slept in tho basket, while
his three companions occupied the air boat
below At o'clock on the afternoon of ihe
next day they landed in the northern part of
New York. and what occurred on the wav
we leave the SraphIc pen of Prof Wise TO
tell. Indeed this is of the most extraor-
dinary efforts in Aerial navigation ever at
tempted, In this, or any othe~ country. aud il
may be hoped not without some miseivings,
however, that Prot w. may yet be able 10 carry
into complete execution, his long cherished
plans of safely navigating the air and to n GER
tain extent of controlling the course of air ships
Let US now turn the reader over TO Prof
Wise's own account of his extraordinary voy-
age.
clusion that sc were somewhere over the State
of Indiana or Ohio. At A NJ. we passed a
city but could not make 1t out. but at 5 A NJ
we discovered Lake Erie ahead of u.s. and then
concluded that the city left d little south of
our track must have been Fort Wave AGA
NJ. passed Toledo. and about an hour after
wards we lowered the margin of the lake a
little north of Sandusky. After a few moments
consultation, and review OF our ballast We de-
termned to risk the length OF Lake E-ie and
to test the notion that balloons cannot be kept
up long over water. because of some peculiar
affinity of the two, notion that never had any
belief with me. just as we merged upon the
Lake little steam screw that was prors.lling
up river or bay headed for our track, and
some one aboard OF her quantity cried, aloud to
us, chat is the lake ahead vf YOU" Mr. La
Mountain cried back. "Is it Lake Erie 2" and
the answer was, Yes it is and YOU had better
look out Our good friena the propeller, find >
| ing we discarded his kinGue-s, rounded off
again, sounded US good bye with his steam
whistle and went his way up the river.
Here mounted up until the balloon got
full. and the barometer fell to 23. in order l.,
make along near The soul hern shore OF the Lake
but at Mr.. LaMountain's suggestion that We
could make the city OF Buffalo by sailing but a
few hundred feet above the surface of the water
opened the valve until gradually sank to
within o0O feet of the water. Here we found "a
gentle gale OF about speed of mile per min
ute. and we resolved to float on it until we
should heave IL sight of buffalo and then rise
and sail it. This was the most interesting,
part of our voyage. We overlook seven steam
boats, passed mutual salutill IONS and would
soon leave them fitting on the horizon in our
rear. One OF these lonely travellers remarked
as we passed him. You are going ii like thuu-
der o.
AT twenty minutes past 10 a. NJ we were
sklrtIng along the Canada shore, and passed
near the mouth Of the Weliaud canal, and SOON
began to mount Tor our more easterly current
rs to take Buffalo in track bat we circl-
ed up into 1T between Buffalo and \ Niagara Falls
crossing Grand Island, leaving Buffalo to the
right aud Lockport To the left of us in our on
ward course Finding ourselves in the State
OF New \ ork, but too far north to make the
city ut New York, 1t WIS agreed that we would
making Landing near Rochester, detach the
boat, leave ont Mr.. eager and Mr.. HYDE aud
! Mr.. La Mountain and myself pursue the vow
age 10 point at Boston Portland. Accord
Ibgiy We descended gradually. bot before we
got within thousand feet of the cart b, found
d most terrific gale sweeping along below The
woods roared like host of NIagaras, the sur
face OF the earth was filled with clouds OF dust,
and told 10y friends certain destruction await
ed us II we should touch the earth In that tor
made. The huge Atlantic was making a terrific
swoop ea-thward already we're the
tops of the of tall forest. anu / cried out
somewhat exci.edly for Gods sake heave over
board anything you can lay your hands on, La
Mountain. and IN another moment be respond
ed -ail right" standing on the side of the boat
with shaft and wheels intended for the work
ing of the fan wheels, and ready to beavc il
over, should it become necessary.
Mr.. Il yde looked up into my car. and very
solemHly SAID, - This is exciting time, Pro-
fessor. what shall do p Trust TO Proyi-
dence and all our energies, said l. We were
fast running on to Lake Ontario, and o ! how
terribly it foaming, moaning and howling
/ said, LA Mountain, have $50 pounds of
ballast in my car yet, and heavy vallse an
Express Bag, (sent 10 the U. S. Express Com
pany's office IN broadway, New YORK } AID j;
lot ot provision
We'll. ii that wont do" said he Il : III cut
out the boat for ballast. and we can keep above
water until we roach the opposite shore which
was near hundred miles off in The directions
We were then gong.
Here | handed my ballast down to LaMouu-
tain, were rapidly mounting above the
terrific gale. believing that by that course we
should at least get out OF Its track
Everything now indicated that We should per-
ish Ia the water or on the land and only
salvation to keep ahaat until We got out Of
the gale, If could. | said, You must ali
get iuto the basket. If YOU want to be saved.
should reach the land. And truly tell
you that the perls oi the land even more
terrible than those "f the water, with our ma
chimes and 1t would be easier To IIreet death by
drowning han TO have our bodi-s nansled by
dashing against rocks and trees"
By this time Mr. eager aud Mr. HYDE had
cianbered into the basket with me- slr Hyde
sid very coolsy. a'n prepared TO die, but
would rather die Oh land than in the wafer -
said, what, do you say, Mr. Ga er ? He
replied . L would rather meet it land bat
DO as you tlnHk best. M. LaMoantafd VA
busily engaged liz cniiecting what he could ior
ballast Everything Row yalua- Ie 10 u
that had weight. Oar carpet-oag.. 0a' instru- :
rnents, the express bag, our provisions, were all
ready 10 go, aud 60 they did. one after another.
until we were reduced 10 the express bag-,hat
went overheard iaSt
We now deserted the shore, some forty miles
ahead peerins between a sombre bank of clouds
and the water horizon, bat were swooping at
! a fearful rate the turbulent waters Of Lake