The weekly Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1872-1887, 1875-09-04
WEEKLY ELNO lRDEPENDENT.
SATURDAY. sEprE MINER 4, 1919
THE LOST AEROXACT.
IRON the CircIpa,ti Tlmr..l

when the remains Of the unhappy Grim
wood arc being buried at his home i'll
Indiana. II relates TINT just two
weeks subsequent to the starting Of the
Inflated balloon, that IL on tho LIST iu-
slant, Mr.. Wilson, one Of tho editors Of
tho News, together with party Of
friends, set out for fishing excursion.
intending to be gono until the LIST Of
September. Their plan was to push up
the Ottawa river to its junction with the
Montreal, and thence up the Inter
stream to its source in Luke dies Quincs,
where they intended TO make their
headquarters. 1t was when within
nbout so miles Of the lake, amid the
dense and untrodden forest through
which the Montreal river runs, thnt
TIE DOOMED LEnoSAUr
wRs found, partly protected by the
ruins of hshiug-hut, with his left urn
und leg broken, and starvation slowly
making its way ugninst the few roots and
berries that he lad been able to drag
himself out to gnther. GnnSrene had
MISC set in, i'll consequence of his unat-
tended wounds, and even the most UNI
professional ego could see that death
WAS inevitable, and that Il few more
hours must terminate his suiTrrings.
And yet il must hnve been a>grand
thing, Judging from SIr. Wilson's mar
rativc,. to note how tho magnificent
physique and daredevil spirit Of the
nun rose triumphant over pain and
denth. Shattered, starved, dying rs he
was, his bearing was M proud and self
reliant IN in the hour of his perfect
prime, and his voice, through the story
Of ull his suiferings, was firm to the last.
The narrative which Mr.. Wilson noted
down from the lips of the dying man is
too long for our space, but the first por-
ton in 80 full OF thrilling interest that
we give it in
DoSALDsoS's owS woRDs;
"Thc fnct Tint the wind, upon our
first rising, carried liz directly over the
lake, did not disturb mo particle, for
TINT hud been my plan from the first.
The breeze WIS stiff one, and its trend
WINS TO carry III directly across into
Michigan long before the natural loss
Of gaS could hive exceeded the amount
Of ballRst that could throw out. Once
in Michigan, 1 intended to seek q land
ing i'll the woods, lie quiet until our alb
Sence had given us sufficient ndvertis-
ing, and then report at tho nearest
town. The storm upset all our cnlcu-
lations. 1t struck us about midway i'll
tho luke, md mt IN elevation Of nbout
1900 feet. II needed but few mo-
ments to show mo that disaster was in
evitable. You sec, storm is not nee
essarily fatal To balloon, provided is
he slow in its rise md steady in its pro-
gress. Tho balloon moves Ts rapidly at
tho mir md thus escapes injury. But
this storm was n Succession Of furious
gusts, collapsing the billion OH one side
before IL could yield Oh the other, ind
driving the gRs ont Of the neck in such
volumes ns Utmost To stiile us. OF
course to fastcn up the neck would have
resulted III immediate bursting. We
had to let the gus go, though our lives
were going with 1t. Tho rain, too, nd
ded greatly to tho weight Of the balloon
and in less thnn ten minutes NIL our
ballast was out and We were still set
Ting. An immediate discharge OF all
the ballast ut the time the storm struck
lin might possibly have shot the balloon
up clcnr of the storm level; but ] feared
ut the first moment to risk u counter
current that would carry us up the lake,
and in tho next wo were 10 stupcfietl
with the escaping gas ns to be Hble to
work only with great difficulty and
slowneSs. II was only when tho ballast
was all gone, and our descent still rap
id, that tho thought forced its way to
my mind Tint
ONE OF us MUST DIE TO SAVE THE OTHER.
think the thought appeared to Mr..
Grlmwood at the same moment as to
inyself, only with this difference, TINT
to me IL was only Il new element o. dun
ger which hHd confronted all my life
timc-I faced it quietly. TO him it Ind
an appalling strangcncss-he sRt cow
ering in the bHsket, his teeth chatter
ing, his faco livid, his hair blowing
wildly in The storm. He was complete
1y unnamed, and piticd him deeply,
butt WIN life or death. For the mo-
mcnt the thought occurred to me of CIV
ing him chance for his life by draw
ing lots; but in tho next i saw
IL would be TO him only another
mode of death, for he Ind not the nerve
even II lie Ind the experience, to man.
ago tho balloon. At that moment, and
II seems to mo
THE sTRASaEsr THING on THE JOURNEY,
There flashed across my mind pas
sage Of Blaokstone-l Studded law n
litlld bit once In my life, which refers
to two men on plank ut scn. "Mcn
tl:::,!: rory rapidly at such times, sir,
and oil this occurred more quickly
than / can tell IL to you. How tho INIT
ter would have ended in my mind
cannot Sny, had 1 not seen ut that
moment
ar. uRIMwooD TRYING TO DRAW 4 DER
RINGER front Hfs POCKET.
Ills hand ircmbled go TINT have no
idea now that lie could have hit me;
but tho movement was sufficient to end
my hesitation. All the instinct to self
preservation lcnpcd 10 my muscles, and
II seemed 10 me but single wave OF my
hand before Grimwolid wns falling to-
ward the lake, and the balloon shoot
ing up above tho storm. The scream
Of agony which the poor wretch trdilcd
down to the wNtcr wRs hUrriblc--hOrri.
bic! can hear IL yeti; but do not
rcgncL what l did. It was my life
against his, and my life was tho better
Of tho two"
Tho remainder OF the narrative il
full Of interest, hut too discursivc for
our space. Once in tho quictcr mir nnd
relieved Of Grimwood's weight, tho BIT
loon pursued its course up the lake and
ncrOss the Straits Of Mncinnc into CRn.
ndn, thence returning again in dircc-
ton little south Of east. IL was I'M
tloubtcdly tho same balloon that wns