The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1879-11-18
Perils in The Air.

I lCbthb AOoo VI Il AViOopOA W AoN1 49,
celebrated @ronaut calls to mind the
great mrial voyage from the Mississippi
to the Atlantic coast which began On
July /, 1859. 1t was the longest trip
ever made in balloon. The adventur-
ers were John La Mountain, noted
eronaut, o. A. eager, John Wise and
VIM. Hyde, of the st. Louis Republican.
Mr.. Hyde described the trip in long
letter to his journal. He said that they
left st. Louis at 69 p. M. The cargo
consisted of 900 pounds of sand, In bags
large quantity of cold chickens, tongues
potted meats, sandwiches, etc.; numer-
Gus dark-colored, long-necked vessels,
containing champagne, sherry sparkling
Catawba, claret, Madeira, brandy and
porter; plentiful supply of overcoats,
shawls, blankets and furgloves; a couple
or three carpet-bags; a pail of iced
lemonade and bucket of water a
compass, barometer, thermometer and
chart; bundles of the principal st. Louis
newspapers; an express package, direct
ed to New York city; cards of candi-
dates for clerkships in several of the
courts; tumblers, cups, knives and
other articles.
The balloon, the Atlantic, with its
four passengers, sailed off in north
easterly direction, and in less than two
hours, at height of about one mile,
struck the current that the @ronauts
had declared was always flowing in the
upper regions from west to east. The
discovery greatly elated Prof. Wise.
There broke from his lips little cough,
and saying, "Boys, let's sing" he struck
up the stirring national anthem, "Hail
Columbia, F" in which all joined, though
the frigidity of the atmosphere put quite
damper on patriotism and melody.
A little after midnight there were
momentary flashes of lightning on all
sides of the horizon. The milky way
appeared like luminous phosphorescent
clouds, and heavens jeweled tiara of
stars glistened below and above. Nights
queenly brow shimmered with the
mellow light of the newborn crescent
moon. The mighty scroll of the ceru-
lean-pillared armament glittered all
over with gorgeous heraldry.
Day broke at O'Clock, and the dogs
began to bark. At Ais they sailed over
Fort Wayne, Ind, and could hear the
shouts of its inhabitants. At 5.15 they
deserted in the east what at first ap-
peared to be reflection of the sun on
the sky. One of the party asserted that
they were not many miles from lake.
The noble air vessel was rushing along.
at a brisk rate, dragging its shadow on
the ground encircled in fantastic colors,
There was no doubt that what had at
first seemed brilliancy of the eastern
heavens was nothing less than an i'm
mense body of water. The eronauts
concluded that it could only be Lake
Erie, and they were right, for, tracing
the shore and observing the little islands,
its contour corresponded almost precise
ly with the map.
A sublime scene now broke on human
view. Lake Erie has surface of 1900
square miles, and, although they could
not behold the whole of it, the view lost
none of its magnificence. Groups of
white clouds, like great puffs from a
steam pipe, foated languidly on every
side, unfolding their gauze-like robes,
and passing off in eddying currents.
There was collection of houses huddled
together at the mouth of the Maumee.
1t was Toledo, There, in that great
bend, dotted with specks of land, Perry
gained his victory in 1918.
At 7:25 they swept over Sandusky,
and fioated out on the bottom of the
lake. AT $3.50 they overlook Buffalo
steamer and were hailed with shrill
whistle. They were about 500 feet high,
and held conversation with the pas
sengers. AT $50 they were over Long
Point, Canada, the scene of the great
fight between Morrissey and Heenan.
So they had traversed nearly the entire
length of Lake Erie, distance of 250
miles, accomplishing 1t in three hours.
AT 1890 they had Lakes Erie and
Ontario both in sight. The balloon had
again attained an altitude of nearly
mile. A terrible storm was surging
beneath them, the trees waving and the
waves dashing against the shores of Erie
in an awfully tempestuous manner.
Now, like gurgle, came the subdued
sounds of the FLASHING and headlong
cataract of Niagara.
A l.1ol..l.I-