Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-08-27
THE LOST BALLOON.
Finding of the Body of Newton :.
GrknlwOOdss-The Remains Emily
Identihed---His Notes Beginning an
Account Of the Aerial Voyage.

On the 18th day of July last Prof Don
aldson made a balloon ascension from
Chicago, accompanied by n. S. Grim
wood, reporter attached to the Chicago
Etcntng Journdl The wind carried them
over Lake Michigan, in the direction of
Muskegon, Mich, which point, had the
current continued in the same direction
and OF like intensity, they would have
reached about two O'Clock on the morning
OF the followingd day About midnight ter
riblc storm arose, and the wind suddenly
shifted to an opposite direction. At that
time they were thought TO be within
twenty or thirty miles of Nuskegop, and
as neither aeronauts nor the balloon had
been seen since the impression prevailed
that they had either found a watery grave
in the depths of the treacherous lake or
suffered not less horrible fate by being
carried into the wilderness of Northern
Michigan, where they must have inevitably
perishcd of starvation. The feeling of re-
gret at their untimely fate was universal,
and, though some professed hope of their
ultimate return, the great majority believed
they. had miserably perished.
Such was the public feeling on the 10th
day of August. On the afternoon of that
day, thirty-three days after the ascension, a
telegram was received from Montague,
Mich, announcing the finding of the body
of young Grimwood on the lake shore,
between Whitehall and that place. The
discovery was made by a Mr.. Beckwith,
who carries the mail between Stony Creek
and Montague. During his trip along the
lake shore he noticed apeculiar smell and
was attracted by it to look along the
beach in search of the cause. When
he came up to the body it was
lying on its face and partially covered
with sand. Decomposition had already set
in, and Mr. Beckwith describes the ap-
| pcarance of the remains as most horrible
and offensive. At first Mr.. Reckwitll
thought it might be the body of some
sailor who had been washed overheard
from some vessel, and which, though a
sad event to those related to him, had not
a public interest sufficient to require him
TO try &c. identity him. He looked again
and saw what appeared to be life-preserv
or, and then, remembering the loss
of the aeronauts, he overcame his
repugnance and carefully examined
the dead. The pockets contained watcf
on which was engraved the name of N. s
| GrimwoOd, his diary, in which were brie
| iottings of the incidents of his trip, q
numbered ticket to the Chicago Public
4 Library, and other things which showed
| conclusively that it was the body of poo
| Grimwood. 1t had on full suit ofclothe
excepting boots and hat, and the prepara
tions made, by tightly buttoning the Goa
and putting on the life-preserver
seemed to indicate that the younl
man had prepared to swim, AM
might have succeeded in sustaining
himself above the surface for som
time had the life-preserver been OF an!
USE After being examined the body wa
buried near where 1t was found, it beinl
impossible TO transport it with the appli
ances at hand. AS soon as the finding o
the body was known search was imme
diately instituted for traces of Donaldson
or the balloon The shore for severa
miles was carefully looked over BY men il
parties and singly, butno other body hat
yet been found and no trace of the air-bai
had been reported up to the evening o
the 18th.
A dispatch to the Epening Journal give
the following as copy of the ,oNings Il
Grimwood's diary:
UP IN A BALLOON
From the earliest days of chill hood hav
always had a presentiment that some tim'
sooner or later, l was bound TO rise. TheT
are some people who make sport OF present
ments, but, after all, a presentiment is
handy thing TO have around. Where woul
have been to-day II hadn't had present
mentY In accordance with my presentimen
have risen, as 1t were, TO "point Of Of
der" Like great many p liticians, rise
means of gas.
regret the fact that there are only two {
us-Prof Donaldson and myself-as lwoul
like 10 belong to the "upper ten" Pro
Donaldson seems to be a very pleasant geI
! tleman, although philosopher and aero
naut
Although II is scarcely an hour since
stFnRGlod into eninenee, the restraints Z
my position are already beginning 10 be III
some 70 me and wear upon my spirits
cannot help rejecting that, II we fall, we ia
like Lucaer, out Of the heavens, and tn
upon our arrival upon earth, or, rather, up6
! water-for we are over the middle of Lal
! Mjchigan~we would be literally dead.
The Chicago Journal # the 18th says:
; "Mr. Grimwood was q young man
,, more than ordinary prOmise-physicall,
stalwart, robust and strong; intellectuall
cultured, studious and unObtrusive; s.
cially, of peculiarly pleasant, good n
D tured and humorous disposition-oftt
Y witty, always gentle; and morally, higl
. minded, Of noble instincts, the best
: habits and above Ieproach. He was ami
4 tious Of excelling as practical newspap
n man. He became reporter only as q steJ
ping-stone 70 something higher in q