San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-11-03
vEsrUREsoxE vOYAaERs.
PrsIsssss Klsg ssA Hsshasss, q AsFesssss,
Rafs.-Thrilling Narrative 81 Thsif
Expssissess. "a


mronauts, King and Hashagen, are safe
and as indicated in last nights spacia
to the Globe Democrat, they hail from
the wilderness OF Barron County, Wis
Tho balloon landed last Friday night
week at point sixty-ave miles above
Chippewa Falls, Wis, and since Their
the two air-sailors have been pushing
their way slowly and painfully toward
civilization. A detailed account Of
their thrilling experiences will be
found below. j. Geo. Hashagen, the
Signal Service officer who accompanied
Prof. King, gives the following account
of the trip in special to the Daily
NeGs this afternoon:
. CIppEwAH FALLS, Wis, October 81
The voyagers who took such hasty
flight last Thursday from civilization
feel no such disposition to day. If you
should see lis now, dragged, torn,
water.soaked and exposed, and our APP
petites-what wonderful thing they
are-you would surely say we loved
civilization, and more especially the
good table. Before five minutes after
leaving terra frma we reached an alti-
tude Of 1890 feet, moving southwest.
A few mintes later we reached an up
per current moving slowly westward,
so slowly that we berely moved-but
what a prospect beneath us! Chicago,
which at best is barely endurable to
the Downeaster, was now thing OF
beauty. but not a joy forever, for we
were soon shut out by night, and had
nothing but its ss2 %'~S4
MYRIADS OF LIGHTS
twinkling in the distance. We remain
ed there suspended, neither rising, nor
falling, for several hours, but at last a
puff of air sent us southwest, changing
before morning to west and northwest
we remained becalmed about three
hours, swinging in circle over small
city that, from its location, I judged to
be Peoria, Ill. After getting tired of
the earthly stars we turned in, that is,
took "cat maps" At 5:15 a. m. Friday
we passed over Spring Valley. Wis,
startling the natives by dragging our
drag-rope over their roofs, and one am
bilious fellow, probably thinking we
were old Nick with his legion,sent a shot
after us. Afterwards we passed over
the Platte mounds at 7 :15 a. m. CHEESE
mounds are 1921 feet above the sea
leveD, of various and fantastic forms,
which, with the bright colors and
surrounding foliage, give a
picturesqueness to the surface
unequaled by anything but a
most vivid imagination, the balloon
circulated among the mounds as though
drawn by an inspired force, and one
particularly, as if 10th to part with us,
kept us just one half hour dancing this
circular attendance. We were COM
PEELED at last to use our ballast to escape
this apparent attraction. OF course, it
was nothing but currents OF cold air
circulating in the valleys which it was
necessary to rise above to escape. As
though dissatisfied with her late action
and wishing to give us heavenly view,
our balloon took an upward turn, carry
ing us 1000 feet above the stratus
clouds, literally burying us in the milk
for an hour. In passing Little Fails,
Monroe County, Wis, we came SO near
the ground that we came in contact
with the trees and were compelled to
take
LARGE PORTION OF ONE
as a souvneir. When We neared the
ground we were greeted with the ex-
animation of the verdant in every
variety of forms. Children were hush
ed, dogs called of, horses whipped up,
and old country matrons stood in their
doors with arms akimbo and in the
most surprising and comical attitude.
If we had had an artist along, he could