The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-05-28
To live
Is to give.
UPIN A BALLOON.


The outlook was magnificent. At
height of over two thousand feet
our balloon, The Carrier Pigeon,
hung buoyant as u feather in the still
August air.
Beneath us the earth, like a map,
lay bathed in the warm, yellow sun
shine. Paradise itself could hardly
show a scene more pleasant, more
rich in color. or more pastoral or
homelike in aspect.
There were the farmhouses, the
brown>roofed barns, the white lines
of the roads winding to the little Will
ages, and dotted here and there with
slow-cravling wagons; the patches of
golden yellow wheat fields; the ex-
panses of green forest, the shining
ponds and the silver threads of little
rivers, and, still almost at our feet, the
holiday-hearted crowd at lockwood,
for whose amusement We had made
the ascent.
Leaning out of the "basket," )" [ sent
nv last handbills futtering down in-
to the growing depths, then for some
moments sat gazisg silently on the
beautiful panorama below.
Lovely, isn't it," said my conlpag-
non du voyage, who was looking out
on the other side. "Yet, | confess, l
wish we were safe down." he added.
"Why?" 1 exclaimed, "it is as
beautiful and quiet day as ever
was !"
"Too quiet" remarked my friend,,;;
"unnsturally still. But just you
look to the northwest, over the noun
tains there. See that white, pillar
shaped cloud like torn bale of cot
ton. Ihere'll be a thundersquall
here in less than all hour; and these
thunder gusts are not pleasant to
meet in the air. If only that crowd
of fpeople would stop gazing at us, or
if an air>current would carry US off a
dozen or fifteen miles, l for one,
should be most happy to take the
ground again"
This was my second ascent with
Professor Lamoille," as he was then
known to the public; and though not
professional eronaut, it was my
business-I was then on the staff of
a New York journal-to specially re-
port this balloon ascent.
/ may now add, too, without detri-
ment to my friend or his business,
that professor Lamoille," thus ad-
vertised, was in reality a sharp Con"
necticut young man of twenty-five,
who had taken to ballooning on his
own account, and was driving a flour
isbing business making public sscents
at Fourth of July celebrations, and
county fairs, etc and receiving some
times as high as $500 per trip.
To me, however, the professor wa,
simply Ned Brown. Young Brown
was, however, an enthusiast in hi,
business; and he always gave the
public its moneys worth.
We had ascended from lockwood
that day on the occasion of a grand
political orally" and mass meeting
The balloon ascent, as will be guessed
was "feature" devised to draw peo
pie out. Ned had in his pocket ,
check for two hundred dollars from I
prominent politician.
For nearly an hour there seemet
not a breath of air. There we hun,
as if sound asleep in mid-heavens
Yet still in the northwest the whit
thunder-caps pushed their snow.
heads higher and higher. l wrot
several pages of my press letter
while Ned remained silent.
Still scared those great fleec
masses of vnpor in the distance; an
soon underneath them, dark, wstery
looking volumes began to heave UP
Anon, there was a low, far-off-gro
A vast, black shadow, miles away
was stealing along the sunlit earth
, steadily nearing us. 1t seemed
devsur the golden landscape. Th
spectacle was grand. almost awful
so; and now a well>nigh continuou
rumble added to its impressiveness.
'It's coming rapidly" said |, pu
ting up my notes.
s'Oh, yes, its coming" said m
friend, coolly.
Can we rise above a?' fasked.
"Yes-if you will kindly jump Q.
and tighten us, otherwise, not. Ye
sce ] canuot spare thsllittle' balaest
l1D&la j. f. 2 go
zpas sad hpt I pref