Los Angeles daily herald., 1873-10-23
gus Aageles Nerald.
Near Death.

The following amusing sketch of the
balloon ascension is reprinted from
the San Francisco Call:
The balloon ascension from the City
Gardens yesterday came very near re-
sulting in disaster and loss Of life.
The balloon which left the Gardens at
4:20 P. NJ. contained about thirty thou
sand feet of gas, and carried as pas
sengers Edwin HI. Clough, of this pa
per, and William w. Austin, of the
Chronicle, each of whom being anx-
iOus to obtain full particulars OF the
voyage, were bent upon accomplish
ing the trip if the other did. Neither
of the would-be @ronauts paid particu-
lar attention to the filling of the bal
loon, trusting to the management ofthe
Gardens and Professor Lay. The hour
was late and the crowd inpatient,
consequently the ascension had to
take place, if only one man went into
the car of the balloon; and the main
through which the gas was supplied
being only four inches in diameter,
the amount of gas could not have been
large. AS has been subsequently ascer-
tanned, the supply of gas only amounted
to about thirty thousand feet, and the
risk of ascension was redoubled in
like proportion. The reporters before
mentioned, however, resolved to take
that risk, and at the word of command
given by Professor Lay, scared towards
that portion of the heavens known as
the "nether blue"
THE ROPE WAS CAST LOOSE,
And the two men wele left alone in
illimitable space, with the surround
ing country from the Pacific Coast to
the Coast Range stretching away far
below them. For moment they en-
joyed the delightful scenery - the
winding streets, the hazy mountains
and the glistening water; moment
afterward apprehension felled their
hearts-they were drifted seaward.
At five o'clock the barometer indica-
ted
A HEIGHT OVER THREE MILES,
With a current due west. A few mo-
ments after, one of the voyagers no.
ticed that Meigg's wharf, was almost
directly underneath him, and gave
the order to pull the valve-rope. The
balloon answered to the pull, and drift
ed dgently to the northward. But too
much gas had been already exhausted,
and the balloon, hanging over the
Golden Gate, one mile west of the
north Head light, began to drop like
q flash of lightning, if that fluid can
be measured by time. The baro-
meter indicated, at the time the young
.eronauts began to fall, fully two
miles above the surface of the water,
and in exactly two minutes, the bask-
ct struck the surges Of the Pacific
ocean beyond the north Head Light.
1t was an awful moment for those two
men. Their combined weight kept
the basket upon the water, without
completely submerging it, although
Austin went under three or four times,
while Clough, confident that he could
reach the Marin comfy shore by SWIM
ming, clung to the other side. The
billows of the grand Pacific swept with
irresistible force into the bay, but
these men clung to their frail support
until one Of them saw a boat approach
ing, and apprised the other of the fact.
Then, and not till then, did the cour-
age of those two lost men revive. A
race then ensued between the balloon
and the boat-a Whitehall, pulled by
two men. First the boat seemed to
be gaining on the balloon. and the ag-
ony of those men clinging to the frail
wickerwo~k of that balloon, may be
better asserted than described. One Of
them certainly, and he in the better
position for escape, felt, that the boat
COULD NEVER REACH THE FOUNDER
ING BALLOON.
And hoping only to sustain his COM
panion's courage, yelled, yes, actually
yelled, to him to cling on to the ropes
to the last, knowing that he could not
swim. Slowly, far too slowly, that
boat approached, until it was along
side of the laundering balloon, almost
in mid-ocean. Those who have been
at sea know how difficult it is to shout
through gale to companion in dis
tress, but when almost certain death
stares person in the face, it is diff
ferent thing-he cannot hear single
word, and so it was with Austin, al
though admonished in the sternest
tones, which danger alone countenan-
ces, to let go his hold upon the valve
rope of the balloon, and although he
had already been under the water
four or five times in the almost inef-
fectual attempt to keep his head above
the surface of those terrific surges that
sweep through the Golden Gate, he
did manage to hang to the balloon
until Clough.
LEAPED AWAY
And swan for the rescuing boat, which
he reached, and calling upon the boat
men to pull with all their strength,
succeeded in rescuing the unfortunate
Chronicle reporter, but lost the bottle
of prime brandy cocktails especially
prepared for the trip. Perhaps it
might be as we'll to mention the fact
that Austin, being of an aspiring dis
position sprang fully three hundred
feet from the surface of the ocean be-
fore the boat succeeded in rescuing
him, but that, of course, is of no con-
sequence, since two reporters were
rescued from an untimely grave, and
are left to watch a cOmmunity's mis-
doings. Two young men named HOd-
ges and Jefferson were the parties who
rescued the two reporters, and they
deserve considerable credit for the
manner in which they assisted the two
gentlemen after placing them upon
Meiggs wharf, where other friends
took charge Of them Immediately,
Notwithstanding their deluged appear
ance. Laying all joking aside, it is
perhaps, the most remarkable escape
on record-for if the boatmen had not
been on hand the two reporters would
probably have been at the bottom of
the Pacific Ocean by this time; and it
is certain that those bOatmen would
not have been on hand unless ship
had been approaching.
Bill Bosh, of Boston, tells of west
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