The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1870-04-09
La Mountain the Aeronaut.


HIS THRILLING ADVENTURES IN THE
cLouDs-I, ,1S0 MILES IN LESS THAN
10 HoURs-How THE BRAVE MANS
LIFE WAS SACRIFICED BY THE IDLE
CURIOSITY OF a CROWD.
[From the Tribune, March A.
John La Mountain, the famous aero
naut, died at South Bend, Ind, on the |
14th of February. La Mountains life !
was full of adventures and of incidents |
which were frequently more interesting
than agreeable. He was among the
most fearless aeronauts in this or any
other country, and pursued his chosen
profession with a higher object than
merely to make money by exhibiting
himself. lie was compelled to make
balloon ascensions for the amusement of
the public as means of support, but he
hoped to make his experiments useful in
the advance of science and the develop
ment of meteorological theories. He
/ finally died poor, at the age of IL. A
pet theory of La Mountain was that there
was a current in the atmosphere cores
ponding with the Gulf Stream in the
ocean, and flowing steadily from West to
East He was ambitious to be the first
aefouaut to cross the Atlantic, taking
advantage Of this current. He built the
famous balloon ssAtlantic" for this pur-
pose. This is one of the largest, strong
est and most beautiful balloons ever made
The acronaut determined TO test his the
ory by land voyage first, aud started
from St. Louis to the East, accompanied
by John Wise, Mr.. Hyde, an editor of
the Missouri RepudHican, and Mr.. Gager,
a scientific man OF Boston. The party
were in the air over nine hours, passing
over Lake Erie, and into New York State
Up to this point they had enjoyed what
seemed to them a calm, though their
mo ions must have been very rapid.
while crossing Lake Ontario, tornado
seized TIE balloon, and it was, left a wreck
III the woods of Jefferson county, y. Y
The ''-Atlantie' had travelled l, $50 miles
in less than ten hours This disaster
ruined La Mountain plan of crossing
the ocean for the time. He was sad
dened, but felt that the trip had import
ant results in showing the velocity of
aerial motions, and demonstrating the
fact that balloon might cross large bod
les Of water. \ small balloon was made
from the remnants of the sAtlantic, y
and he started on a trip from Watertown,
New York, with Mr. j ohm a Haddoek
editor of the Ref5rnesr The trip was a
remarkable one. The voyagers, who ex-
pceted to return IN few hours, were not
heard from for many days. Public ex-
element became intense. The mystery
was at last explained. Having no com-
pass, the aeronauts had lost their bear
ings, and were carried far into the dense
woods of the Ottawa reservation, in Can
ada. After wandering for many days
subsisting upon leaves and berries, they
were accidentally discovered, in the last
stages of starvation, by some Indian
scouts in the employ Of a lumberman
Their story was widely published and
illustrated by the newspapers When
the war began, La Mountain turned his
attention to military balloons, and was
the first aeronaut engaged in the service.
The advantages gained by ballooniug
were very uncertain, however, and the
entere system was soon given up The
last serious adventure of La Mountain
occurred in Michigan, and probably has
tened his death. An impatient crowd
cast him off before he was ready, without
and oycrcoat or instruments, and the
valve rope tied several feet above the
basket. He shot like q rocket up into a
heavy cloud of mist and slcet, which
froze the valve board fast. He climbed
with frost bitten fingers, upon the net
work, and tore the balloon with his teeth
The opening extended so far that the
balloon collapsed, discharging its gas, and
fell with great velocity from the heigt OF
nearly two miles. The aeronaut was
picked up benumbed and insensible
though not dangerously injured.