The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-10-29
so1are miles. and although they could

stcsm-pipe, floated hnguidly on ever.
side, unfolding their gauze-like robes
and passing off in eddying currents
There was q collection OF houses huddlct
together at the mouth OF the Maumee
1t was Toledo. There. in that -grea
bend, dotted with specks of land, Perry
gained his victory in 1913.
At 1925 they swept over Sandusky
and 1oated out on the bosom of the lake
Ate: 80 they overlook q Buffalo steamer
and were hailed with 8 shrill whistle
They were about 500 feet high, and helt
n conversation with the passengers. A
$50 they were over Long Point, Can
ada, the scene Of the great tight between
Morrissey and Heenan. Soon they hat
traversed nearly the entire length o
Lake Erie, Il distance of $50 miles, &C
completing it in three hours.
At l04 o'clock they had Lakes Fri
and Ontario in sight. The balloon hat
again attained an altitude Of nearly
mile. A terrible storm was Surging be
meath them, the trees waving and tn
waves daslling against the shores o
Erie in in awfully tempestuous manner
Now, like q gurgle, came the subdue(
sounds of lhe FLASHING and headlon!
cataract of Niagara.
At IL o'clock, having skinned ovcl
the lake shore, still bound eastwardIy
the balloon brought them in sight o
Buffalo and Niagara Falls, as also tn
Weliand Canal. They had reached /;
height Of more than a mile, the barome
ter marking 1916 inches. At -! they
were nearly between the falls and But
falo, inclining rather to the left of th(
latter. The famous falls were quite IN
significant. There was to the voyagel:
a descent Of seemingly about two feet
and the water seemed TO be perfectly
motionless. The spray gave the whole
IN appearance as Of ice, and there was
nothing grand or sublime about it..
Passing the western terminus OF the
! Erie canal, the balloon was borne directly
toward Lake Ontario. The ballast was
now nearly exhausted, and to nave dc
termined on crossing the second LAKE
would have been sheer recklessness ano
hardihood. Here it was debated whether
it were better to land Messrs. eager anc
| HYDE and in their stead take in n sutfi'
| cient auantit of new ballast and agalr
! steer for the Atlantic ocean. The all
ship was lowered, but was Immediately
caught in the hurricane which was thcr
raging, and carried very near the tops o.
trees, which were bending and swaylng
to and fro by IT," 3"rce of the wind. Mi
La Mountain at once threw over the
buckets and their contents, and the LII,
this gave them kept them from beint
crushed in the woods.
Like a bullet they shot out into thu
lake. The boat was got in readiness
and the trooping winds sent them ou'
of sight Of land. They were in a drearJ
waste of 1000 square miles of water
At length they neared the dashing bi
lows. The steering machinery was cut
away, and they arose like Feather. Fol
a tinle the ship was buoyed out of thu
way Of danger, but she frequently darteo
downward. as though bent on destruc'
ton. Carpet acks, overcoats, provis'
ions, everything was pitched into the
lake. la Mountain finally cut away the
lining of the boat. The oars were sem
after the lining. Everything had now
gone but all overcoat and two blankets
Which were saved to be used rs a tina
resort. A propeller, Young America,
bore down to their relief, but they.scud'
dec some hundreds of feet before hel
bows, and that hope failed.
Finally, after skismishing within thirty
feet of the dark waves for q distance Of
not less than fifty miles, and perhaps
more, they were out of danger of drown.
ing; but a new peril was before them.
Tie hurricane blew them into a dense
forest which skirted the lake and threat.
ened to tear them limb from limb. MIR
eager had thrown out the anchor, I
heavy iron one, with three hooks, each
IN inch and u quarter in thickness. So
rapid was their flight that this stood out
nearly straight from the a AS the
e%rapnel swung against the trees OF
moderate size. the velocity of the balloon
and its terrible strength would tear then,
down and ting them to the ground
One by one the hooks broke off, and they
were again at the mercy Of an all-sweep.
ing wind. Messrs. La Mountain ano
Hyde held on to the valve rope, endeav'
oring to discharge the gas, but were
quickly compelled to release their grasp
and cling to the concentrating hoop tc
avoid being thrown out.
The balloon actually went through
mile of forest, and, tearing down tree
and breaking branches, pursued its re-
~sistless course, dashing the party in tht
willow car to and fro, against trunk:
and limbs, until the stout netting hae
broken, little by little, and the balloon
itselfhad no longer any protection, when
striking a tall tree. the silk was pune
tured in a dozen places, and rent intt
ribbons, leaving the car suspended by
thenetting twenty feetabove the ground
The course of the balloon through thu
woods left q path similar to that of .
tornado. Trees half the size of a man.
body were snapped in twain as though
they were pipestems. and huge limb!
were scattered like leaves.
The landing was made within Isl
yards of q settlement, and the crash wa!
so great that the people run to the spo
to see what had happened. Singular a
it would appear, there was only one o
the four injured, Mr.. La Mountain re
ceiving some slight Commissions abou
one of his hips. The remainder ESCAPED
without q scratch. When they got down
partly by ropes and partly by means o
a broken tree, several persons wer
standing around with open mouths ant
! eyes staring out in wonder. Then the.
learned that they had landed on the farm
of Truman 0. Whitney. near Sackettl
Harbor, in the town of Henderson, JET
terson county, N. Y. By Mr.. La Noun
tain's watch. the time was 2:20.
They had been nineteen hours an!
forty minutes travelinga distance whicl
cannot be computed at less than l,2O
miles.-NeD York SIN.