The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-05-28

"And catch ducking, and get my
balloon burst nothing worsel No;
| have calculated the chances. We
will run before the storm"
"But this doesn't look much like
running" said. Eve are not NOV
ing hairs breadth"
"Wait bit. There will be wind
enough, promise you, within five
minutes" observed my comrade.
"You see," he continued. "every
shower has its own wind, and it al,
ways leads the thunder clouds al
distance perhaps three or four miles
ahead. When that catches US, we
will scud in advance of the rain, l
think"
Just then the gigantic shadow
swept across the sun; and almost at
the same moment a great cold wave
seemed to break against us. The
balloon rocked like boat at sea.
One after another the vast arial
pillows struck as. We bobbed up
and down Oh them like a cork. A
moment or two later, the fresh, damp
current caught US on its mighty wing.
The Carrier Pigeon ducked her lofty
head to leeward, then slowly gather
ing headway, sailed majestically off
before the shower.
"See!" exclaimed Ned. "My
theory holds"
For an hour we sped on thus. l
have no words with which to portray
the impression of grandeur that our
fight in the teeth, as it were, of the
shower gave me. Before US, the
wide, warm. sunlit country; behind,
the black piled, thunderous masses,
riven by VIVID, cleaning lines of
lightning, and ever schoing the deep,
solemn roar of rain and hail Seem
ipgly, it was always about to over>
whelm us, yet drew no nearer, for we
were flying on thirty or forty miles
an hour.
At length the shower spent itself.
The flashes and the loud rattling
peals ceased after q time; and the
black wall of clouds broke up in mist.
1t was getting towards sunset.
at will soon be roosting time,
Ned remarked. "Now hunt for a
soft spot;" and untying the valve-line
he gave a steady pull at it. Instant
ly the whistle of the escaping gas
sounded the first warning notes of
that most trying and perilous ordeal
of an eronaut's life-a descent. For
the first time that afternoon, look of
gravity overspread Ned's face.
"Its easy going up. and sailing af-
ter you are up" he used to say; its
this getting down that tells the story"
1t is a curious sensation, this going
down; you feel yourself toe light
sinking, sinking, as ifa floor beneath
was falling. Still borne on by the
air-current the balloon sagged slowly
toward the earth, as if strung on a
long, descending guy; or rather l
should say, the earth with all its ar"
ray of orchards, farms and fields, rose
steadily to meet US.
We were now not more than eight
or ten hundred feet from the ground,
tending slowly downward, when sud-
denly we seemed to strike INTO fresh,
quick wind, which whisked us along
with it. So sharply did it strike us
that the basket lurched and swung.
"The ground current" muttered
Ned. 81 was afraid of it. General
ly, after a shower, there's fresh
breeze along the ground"
We instantly let go the valve line,
to close the throttle, and threw out
the little ballast we had left; but it
was too late. We had let out too
much gas to rise but brief distance.
The great silken globe above US,
wrinkling with a deafening noise,
like the rafting of sheet iron, swayed
and shook, and then tended still
lower.
ga hard lighting this time, old fel-
low!" exclaimed Ned. "Is your neck
insured?"
-Four thousand dollars on it, my
boyw said /. ''Policy runs to my
dear old mother"
"All right, then. Hang hard! I'm
going to throw out the grapnel," and
my comrade tossed out the first of the
two anchors. The two hundred feet
of line went whizzing off the reel.
Still the anchor did not touch the
earth, but swung clear, and went
dangling over roofs and tree tops, as
We flew along with speed of railway
train.
In the early twilight, we could see
horses and cattle galloping away from
before US. Here and there, s man or
child stood staring, amazed, upward.
Shouts rose on all sides. At least,
we were making a sensation, but our
attention was rivited on the anchor.