Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-09-12
UP IN A BALLOON.
Miss Hise's Account OF Her Last Assem-
sion ut st. Louis.
St. Louis Post.

ST Louis tOSE.
Miss Lizzie Ihling Wise, the we'll
known lady aronat and niece of Prof.
Wise, made a balloon ascension yes
terday from Bodeman's grove in the
presence of a large number of specta-
tors. The day was lovely, and under
the favorable conditions the trip was in
every way a success. An EreaiRg Post
reporter met Miss Wise this morning,
and to him she gave in her own language
the following account of her adventure:
[ made my twenty-tirst aerial voyage
yesterday afternoon at ) o'clock, sharp
time, IL am always punctual,) from
BOdeman's garden. From the nature
of the ground, my uncle, Prof. John
Wise. sent me up with an impetus
sufficient to skip all surrounding OBJ
structions. 1t was a glorious start and
a glorious sight. L rose rapidly to a
heIghth Of seven thousand feet, aneriod
barometer measure. At that altitude
the great western metropolis shrank
into village dimensions, while at the
same time the exAilarating atmosphere
moved my blood into activity and ex-
panded my thinking faculties to make
me feel like Queen-bee lowering over
q vast hiye-indecd the sOnOrouS hum
that came up to me In waves Of sound
made me think that the world below
was really a hive, if not of bees, GER
tainly of buZZing men, women and
children, Oh. how [ wished [ could
stay UP there always; [ prayed to the
great God in devout thankfulness for
being so good to me as to lift me up so
high above the dust and toll of earth be-
low. 1t always makes me pray when [
get up where deep solitude surrounds
me and microscopic life swarms and
buzzes below me. But | had another
duty-imposing. What Of the airl The
sunbeams stung like needles; [ can
only describe the sensation as q pleas
ant pain, if there is such 81 thing. My
thermometer ranged So at the start;
at 900 feet it marked rs. What APP
peared strange TO me was the frigid
GOODNESS penetrating the bottom of my
car. At that altitude, in a clOudlcss
sky, it appears that in shadow it is eX-
tremely cold while under the suns rays
it is extremely warm. As the balloon
turned round and round one side OF
iI1C was VIII Ill tJllu IIlC OIIlGI COltl, ana
thus the law Of compensation was truly
exempined in fact. But I am making
my narrative toe long for short trip.
The Amazon had been smoking its pipe
for half an hour, i, G., the expanded
gas was finding its way from the mouth
of the balloon in white vapor, and
gravity was gaining on levity. The
Amazon began to slide down an inclined
plane into a lovely esplanade of St.
Louis, as it were, but somehow OF
other the great city was sliding off its
moorings, and instead of its being close
by it went northeastWard nine miles,
and lett me in q beautiful, novel sur
rounding near the Gravois road. On
my descent every point Of the compass
was represented with a human motion
to q common center, and in few
moments [ was surrounded by d host
of generous friends. They took hold
Of my cable tow and moored me over
the Gravois road, where / bundled up
my aerial traps, and soon found my way
back to Bodeman's garden. My way
back [ toiled as stupidity as my way out
was glorious.