The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-07-07


A FOOLISH AERONAUr.
Thrilling Adventures Of N. Lhoste
In a Balloon on tho North Sea.
In accordance with your telegraph
ic instructions, / proceeded to-day
from Brussels to this city with the
view of gaining some Information, if
possible from himself, of the adven-
lures of the intrepid French aeronaut,
N. Lhoste. I had little difficulty in
finding him, for the whole city was
ringing with the various versiOns of
his adventures M. Lhoste, . young
man of engaging manners, I found
to-day looking very pale and fatigued
from the perils to which he had bsen
exposed. He il suffering most from
giddiness, but hopes that q days rest
will set him up again. As sood as his
health shall be quite restored, he
assured me with much earnestness
that he will make another attempt to
cross the Channel, and expressed
himself confident of ultimate success.
M. Lhoste said that after various
preliminary trips last week, in COM
pany with his friend N. Eloy, he de-
termined to make the attempt to
reach England On Friday evening,
having a prediction for night trips.
When the time for starting ap-
preached, however, his companion
J thought the weather looked too
threatening for aerial navigation,
and theoretically endeavored to dis
suade him from his purpose, but
without success. Even Eloy's re-
fusal to encourage his rashness by
accompanying him had no effect
upon his obstinate resolution to
make the trip. Accordingly at mid
night on Friday the balloon Pilastrs
de Rozier cast off and rapidly as
cended.
Almost Immediately the weather,
which had been hazy all the evening,
set in very thick, the result being
that Lheste passed the night in the
midst Of q fog, which not only chill
ed him to the marrow, but prevented
him from obtaining the least idea
whether he was drifting, or ever il
he were moving at all.
However, the weather cleared on
Saturday morning, when, to his no
small disgust, he found himself out
to sea in the neighborhood of Cape
Grisnez. He at once threw out bal
last, in order, if possible, to find q
favorable current, and soon rose to a
height of 1000 metres, at which alti-
tude he suffered severely, his face be-
ing half roasted by the heat Of the
sun, whilst his feet were numbed and
almost frozen.
Two hours later he found himself
over a town of some sort, and, draw
ing the valve line, descended rapidly,
and with the assistance of passers by
cast anchor ON the esplanade at Dun
kirk. Being determined to perss-
we're, he calmly took breakfast in his
car, surrounded by a gaping crowd.
and afterwards increased his store Of
ballast.
Noticing a favorable change in the
wind, he %ungrappled, and rose grad
ually to q height Of 5000 metres. He
must have travelled quickly, for he
Soon found himself ever the sea, off
the coast of Belgium.
Far W. among the clouds he found
a terrible difference in tho weather.
for, almost without warning, he sail
ed into a violent storm-wave.
Here the beating Of the rain, the
heavy gusts of wind and the loud re-
yerberations of the thunder put the
stability of the balloon to a fearful
and unforeseen test. The whole
fabric was cOnvulsed with continuous
vibrations, and tossed AMI pitched in
a manner which made it difficult for
the giddy and benunbed aerouaut to
keep his hold on the car. However,
with some difficulty he managed to
open the valve, and descended at
neon on Saturday to within, as far as
he could calculate, 800 metres of the
! sea-.
Unfortunately, in the lower strata
there prevailed a thick fog, which
made it impossible for him to ascer-
tain his exact whereabouts. He
made another ascent in hopes of find
ing the elements more propitious, but
the storm was still raging up in the
clouds, and he therefore considered it
prudent to keep nearer the sea.
As the afternoon wore on he no
ticed with alarm that the gas in the
balloon was dangerously decreasing
and he began to realize his peril. At
4 o'clock the ropes dangling from the
car touched the sea, and he knew
that the critical time had come. The
whele of the ballast, OF which the car
could hold but a comparatively limit
ed supply, had by this time become
completely exhausted.
He at ones threw out one after an
other instruments, cases, and indeed
every movable article in the ar. But
tho balloon responded languidly, and
in a very few minutes the car itself
touched water, and the sea broke
furiously almost every minute clean
over the car, %drenching its unhappy
&C 'upant to the skin.
The ropes and lines toe were DASH
| ed about in a bewildering manner,
and these combined horrors had al
most made M. Lhoste despair, when
he caught sight of the sails Of a fish
ing lugger, which turned out to be
the Noemi.
The captain OF the Noemi almost
simultaneously caught sight of the
balloon, which he for some time took
to be q ship on fire, and man9uvred
round and round accordingly.
When, however, he a%scertained
what the strange craft really was he
at once launched = boat, and with
immense difficulty rescued the
aeronaut from a fate which, but for
his timely appearance, would not
long have been delayed. Lhoste
found he had been rescued within 10
miles of the English coast.
He and the balloon, which had
burst, were taken aboard the NOemi
and landed at Antwerp shortly after
midnight. Lhoste is full Of gratitude
to the captain of the Noemi.-Ant-
werp Correspondence London 1ele-
graph, June "A.