The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-10-29
The King Balloon ASCENSION,

| " { mentioned last week that Prot. klng
who had made balloon ascension the wcel
before from Chicago, and about whose safety
great anxiety was felt as he had not been hearC
| from for week, had finally turned up il
safety on Thursday of last week at Chippew,
Falls, WIS. Mr. j. George Hashagan, of TIT
L. s. Signal Service, had accompanied Prof
King In the balloon, and soon after his arrlva
in Chippewa Falls, prepared for the loca
press the following narrative of the aerial voy
age:
The voyagers who took such hasty flight
last Thursday oct. 18th from civilization fee
no such disposition today. If you should sec
US now, dragged, torn, water-sOaked, and oul
appetites-what wonderful thing they are
you would surely say we loved civilization
and more especially the good table. Within
five minutes after leaving terra frma We
reached an altitude of 1900 feet, moving south
west. A few minutes later we reached an up
per current moving slowly westward, so slow
ly that we barely moved, but what prospect
beneath US! Chicago, which at best Is barely
endnrable to the down-easter was now thing
of beauty" but not 10y forever" for we
were soon shut out by night, and had nothing
vi lISuto III tuC us
lance. We renamed there suspended, neither
rising nor falling, for several hours, but at last
a puff of air sent US southwest, changing be-
fore morning to west and northwest. While
gong southwest we remained becalmed about
three hours, swinging IN circle over small
city that, from It's location, | judged to be Peo-
ria, Ill. After getting tired CT the earthly stars
we turned in, that is, took "catnaps."
AT 5 10 on Friday we passed over Spring
Valley. Wis. startling the natives by drag
ging our dragrope over their roofs, and one
ambitious fellow, probably thinking we were
"Old Nick" with his legion, sent shout after
us.
We passed over the Platte mounds at Z 10
A. NJ. These mounds are l,2Sl feet above the
sea level. They are OF various Co!ors and fam
tastic forms, which, with the bri ght colOrs Of
the surrounding foliage, give plcturesqe APP
pearance to the surface unequaled by any
thing but the most vivid imagination. The
balloon circlcd along these mounds as though
drawn by force of inspiration, and as one par
ticularly 10th to part company. They kept us
just one-half hour dancing in this circular at
tendance, when we were compelled to use our
ballast to escape this apparent attraction. OF
course, there were nothing but currents Of
cold air circulating in the valleys, which it
was necessary to rise above to escape
At 8 A. NJ we passed over "Puttan," or some
named place. Being IN hurry we
could not accept the many invitations to de-
scend.
At 40 A. NJ. we passed over Tomah. At
9 30 we arose among the clouds and lost sight
of mother earth for few hours. The wind,
increasing, carried us at rapid rate, probably
forty or fifty miles per hour, and, not being
able to discern stationary objects, could not
tell where we were or what course we were
pursuing. In passing little Falls, Monroe
Wis, we came so near the ground that
we came in contact with the trees, and were
to take large portion of one along
as souvenir. When we neared the ground we
were greeted with beautiful view of the yer.
dure in every variety of form. Children were
hushed, dogs called of, horses whipped up,
and old country matrons stood in their doors
with arms akimbo, and in the most surprising
and comcal attitudes. 1t we had had an ar
list along he could have made his fortune out
Of their figures.
As though dissatisfied with her late action,
and wishing to give US heavenly view, our
balloon took an upward turn, carrying us 4 600
feet above the strata of Clouds and literally
burying us in milk" for an hour. Mean
while the rain poured in torrents. Collecting
on the outside of the balloon, it poured down
the mouth Of the bag into the basket in
steady stream, compelling me TO put away my
But 1t was useless; there WAS
not dry pinhead among them. At 12:45
r. NJ the highest known elevation was reached,
being 5000 feet.
From the last person spOked to we found
that we were forty miles from St Paul, and
when We descended at 2;30 p. NJ, on the west
bank of the river, one and One-half mile In
land, we concluded that we were in the state
of Minnesota, probably forty miles north OF
ST Paul. on the Mississippi river. With this
IN mind, we stepped out OF our car
INTO about eighteen inches Of ice-watcr, found
we were in cranberry bog, and had to get
out To recite our experience after that for
the next five days is too horrible How we
walked for the next five days up to our knees
through Doggy swamps, without food, except
a halfpint of berries; how the wolves and
bears snarled around us ut night; how We
slept on the wet ground, through heavy trosts,
only to start again in the morning, through
the swamps, with its ice-watcr and falling over
muddy logs at every step, cannot put into
words
As a last resort we built a raft, expecting to
90 over st. Anthony's falls. OF cur subse-
Quent tramp with bistered feet and torn shoes
/ will write more IN detail. But, oh, our JOY
when, at O'Clock IN the evening OF the min
day, we reached Flambeau river and were car
RED across by Clarence Bertrand and Michael
Miner woodmen; and here we are, enjoying
the god things before US.
After arrival at Bruno Ninette's place about
ten miles in direct line from where we de
sccnded, we recupcratej. Next day King took
Vinette, who is the best woodsman, ana on
whose farm we fell, with ten men, to look for
our effects, which we had abandoned They
found everything, which we brought back.
The ten men could not lift one end of the bal
loon cloth, and 1t had to be left, with the bas-
kct anchors, htepreservers, three hundred feet
of drag rope, and netting, which will be taken
out during the winter We were well cared
for at Ninette's. The only transportation was
by water and teams, and owing to overlooked
swamps we made so many devlatlons and cir
cults that the compass was practically useless,
and we were kept all the while mcandering in
a circuit of about nine miles, in the worst
swamps in the state, in section 8, range D,