Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-03-11
La Mountain, the Aeronaut.

! JnO. LaMountain, the famous aeronaut.
died at South Bend, Indiana, on the lIti
of February. La Mountains life was
full of daring adventures and of incidents
which were frequently more interesting
than agreeable. He was among the
most fearless aronauts in this or any
other country, and pursued his chosen
profession with higher object than to
merely make monB by exhibiting him
self He was compelled TO make bal
loon ascensions for the public amuse-
ment as means of support, but he hoped
to make his experiments useful in the
advance of science and the development
of meteorological theories He finally
died poor at the age of Al. A pet theory
of La Mountain was that there was
current in the atmosphere corresponding
with the Gulf Stream of the ocean, and
flowing steadily from West to East. He
was ambitious to be the first eronaut to
cross the Atlantic, taking advantage of
this current. He built the famous bal
loon Atlantic for this purpose. This
was one of the largest, strongest. and
most beautiful balloons ever made The
aeronaut determined to test this theory
by land voyage first, and started from
st. Louis for the East accompanied by
John Wise, Mr.. Hyde, an editor of the
Missouri Republican, and Mr.. eager
a scientific man of Boston The party
were in the air over nineteen hours, pas
sing over Lake Erie, and into New York
State. Up to this they had enjoyed what
seemed to them calm, though their mo-
ions must have been very rapid. While
crossing Lake Ontario tornado seized
the balloon, and it was left wreck in the
woods of Jefferson county, N. Y. The
Atlantic" " had travelled | l8O miles in
less than twenty hours. This disaster
ruined La Mountains plan of crossing
the ocean for the time He was sadden-
ed, but felt that the trip had important
results in showing the velocity of aerial
motions, and demonstrating the fact that
a balloon might cross large bodies of
water. A small balloon was made from
the remnants of the Atlantic" and he
started on a trip from Waterford, N. Y,
with Mr.. John A. Haddock, editor of the
Reformer. This trip was a remarkable
one. The voyagers, who expected to re-
turn in few hours, were not heard from
for many days Public excitement be-
came intense. The mystery was at last
having no compass the aero
nauts had lost their bearing, and were
carried far into the dense woods of the |
Ottawa reservation in Canada. After
for many days, subsisting up
on leaves and berries, they were accident
Iy discovered, in the last stages of starva-
ton, by some Indian scouts in the EN-
ploy of lumberman. Their story was
widely published and illustrated by the
newspapers, When the late war began
La Mountain turned his attention to
military balloons, and was the first aero
iaut engaged in the service. The advan-
ages gained in war by ballooning were
however, and the entire sys-
EN- was soon given up. The last serious
adventure of La. Mountain occurred in
Michigan, and probably fastened his
leath. An impatient crowd cast him off
efore he was ready, without an overcoat
II instruments, and the valve rope tied
everal feet above the basket. He shot
Ike rocket up into heavy cloud of
mist and sleet, which froze the valve
oard fast He climbed with frost-bt-
en- fingers, up the network and tore the
alloon with his teeth The opening ex-
ended so far that the balloon collapsed,
its gas and fell with great
elocity from height of nearly two
lilies The eronaut was picked up be-
umbed and insesible, though not dan
erously injured.