The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1875-08-12
DONALDSON AND
Biographical sketches of the Lost Air
Navigators.

DONALDSON AND GREENWOOD.
Biographical sketches of the Lost Air
Navigators.
WASHINGTON H. DONALDSON
was born in Philadelphia, April 7, 1910.
His family were Quakers, and his father
was n of the earliest photographers in
his native city. Donaldson learned this
business, and soon became an expert in
it. In 1860 he was employed in a photo
graphic studio in this city. He began to
learn line engraving on stone, but as his
health seemed to suffer from the confine-
ment he took to athletic exercises, and
finally became a teacher of gymnastics.
From this he went into the sleight-of-
hand business, and thence into the show
business generally. He became an ex-
cellent performer on the trapeze, and was
also a skillful tight-rope and wire walker.
His introduction to aeronautics came
about in a singular way. He had made
the acquaintance of a certain lady at a
small town in Pennsylvania, and many
tender passages occurred between them.
He had some sort of engagement at
another town near at hand, and subse-
quent to his performances the landlord
of the hotel said "There is a balloon
here in my custody. 1t was left behind
by an unlucky aeronaut who couldn't
pay his board bill. 1t is Just the thing
for you to start upon. Why don't you
buy it." "I don't know anything about
bailooning," said he, "but how much do
you want for it," The landlord said
three hundred dollars. AS Donaldson's
ventures had not been very successful
about that time, he did not possess q
third of the sum, but, as it came out
that the landlord was a relative of the
lady before mentioned, Donaldson wrote
to her on the subject, and by her
interest he procured the balloon ut n
very great reduction upon the original
price. Donaldson was one of the most
perfectly fearless men that ever lived,
but he admitted that he had no sooner
got possession of the balloon than the
most gloomy forebodings filed his mind.
However, he determined to make an as
cension. Accordingly he went to Read
ing, and having made all the necessary
preparations, he assembled on the 31st of
August, 1871. 1t was a trapeze balloon,
that is, it had no car, but the %aeronaut
sat upon a small bar of wood suspended
from the concentrating ring. He told
the writer that before going aloft he was
haunted with premonitions of death, but
no sooner had he reached the upper re-
gions than a complete revolution took
place in his thoughts. The astounding
beauty of the spectacle of the earth as
seen from a balloon, the exhilaration of
spirits which follows an ascent, and the
wonderful and unexpected serenity of
atmospheric travel-for, under ordinary
circumstances one is scarcely conscious
of motion ms balloon-an this impressed
him so powerfully that his dependency
gave way to enthusiasm, and from that
hour aeronautics became to him q pas
sion. At the time of his death he had
probably made about 800 ascensions,
which, considering the brief space in
which they were made, is more, proper.
tionately to time, than those of any other
aeronaut that ever lived.
In the early part of 1874 Donaldson
entered into an engagement with the
managers of Barnum's Hippodrome tc
make ascensions in connection with thai
establishment during the summer This
engagement he most faithfully carried
out, to the satisfaction of his employers.
He was always ready to make ~ascensions
and always managed them with consum
mate skill. He had q firm belief tina
balloons, at no very distantfuture, would
be utilized for purposes of travel, trans
portation of mails, and SO on. He be
lieved this would be accomplished b,
the employment of some motive force il
the propulsion of balloons, and he die
actually invent a little flying nachin,
which operated very successfully insid,
of the Hippodrome.
MI. Donaldson leaves a brother anG
two children. To tho latter he was al
ways a kind and indulgent father, ant
rarely allowed a month to pass by with
out paying them a visit.
NEWTON s.. GREENWOOD
was born and reared in the vicinity o
t Yorkville, Kane county, ILL.,, his parent
| being wellto-do farmers. The Grim
wood family consists of father, mother
} four sons and q daughter. OF the sons
two are engaged in farming in Iroquoi
f county, and n yet remains on tn
farm, as does also the sister, who i
the youngest of the children. Newton
the lost balloonist, the youngest of tn
SONS, who was % years old, was regarde'
as a young man of exceedingly brigh
promise, the first evidence of his geniu
, being shownin various humorous article
in the Yorkville WeUs, on which pape
/, The worked when in his teens. Som
eighteen months ago, In connection wit
r a gentleman named Cook, he establishe
the Lockport GILL; Courier, his interes
} in which he soon afterward sold, in orde
t to take a position on the Joliet Sun
which he left q few months since for tn
broader field offered for his enterpris
ON the Chicago Evening Journal. Ri
: mother, being in delicate health, ha
been kept by her family in ignorance c
his disappearance until q day or tw
r since, when, having given up all hope c
his return, they told her the exact situi
ton of affairs. She had in the meantime
being a great reader, wondered why sh
could obtain no papers-a matter she 6
once understood when she learned tbs
7 they had been hidden from her for fes
s Of the effect that the news of his bein
e lost might cause his death. She consider
that the family acted wisely in doing &
they did, as the alternate hope, fear, an
: uncertainty relating to him in the fir
d few days after the balloon ~ascensio
q would have been harder to bear than IL
d almost absolute knowledge she now h,
) of his death.
How to Keep n Subscriber.
u u An indignant farmer recently entere
l the office of the Elizabeth NeUs al
d ordered his paper stopped because !
II differed from the editor in his viey