The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-10
STORIES OF BALLOONING.
How a Sky-SaiIor Kept a Promise
Made to an Honest Farmer.
Three Wise Men of GrOtOn and Their In
hospitality to Three Dismal Balloon
ists-After Many Days.

Charles Reade, the novelist, says there is no
story-teller like a sailor, that he is better than
half a dozen lawyers and as many doctors rolled
in one. He means "a skinner of the seas. Well,
a sailor of the skies takes high rank as a story
teller. Professor King, who is here arranging
an aerial voyage for the State fair, was talking
yesterday about aerOnautic condolences. 'You
remember Donaldson" said the Professor, land
that lie went up, taxing a reporter with him? He
was supposed TO have drowned in Lake Michigan.
Donaldson's body never was found; but the re-
mains OF the reporter were found IN the lake,
having been washed ashore. 1t was the same
IN the case of Wise, who, also, took a reporter
with him. The body Of the reporter was found,
but Wise's remains were never recovered.
Il will tell you a little thing that happened to
me i'll 1901 think that's the year. l was to
make an ascension at Whining ton, Delaware.
One of my subscribers lived out in the country
about six miles, and came to me and said he was
sorry but he would have to go home, and asked,
Which way DO you think your GOT Now, as a
matter of fact, when you start up in a balloon
you haven't any definite idea just which way
you will go, and l told him 1 hadn't made up my
mind. why can't you manage it to come down
on my placer he asked jakingly. l replied that
l didn't know where he lived. He, continuing
the joke, described his farm and it's location and
the house, and l said that if l could find the
place 1 would come, He left, and soon after the
balloon rose. it first went south about ten
miles, then over the Delawar river, then due
west over the city. The balloon showing a ten
dency to descend, 1 opened the valve and
dropped lightly TO the ground. A man in his
shirt-sleeves was standing a little way off, near
a white farmhouse. 1t was my subscriber, he
came running to me In amaZement. We'll,
Richardson said /, stepping out of the balloon,
here | aln.' He took me into the house, the
neigbbOrs gathered, and we mad a jolly time.
Nobody could ever make him believe that L
didn't arrange to come there and that it was not
the merest chance, and he always believed me
TO he the most wonderful aeronaut in the world"
A STORY OF SIMPLE FAITH.
"I made an ascension from Boston July 4, ff-
teen years ago. A lady and E. B. Haskell, now
one of the owners of the Boston Herald, went
up with me. We drifted over the harbor and
passed the islands, aId turned with an under
current and came back over the city to Cam
bridge, and going higher, went over the city to
the east. This repeated three times, and at
10 o'clock at night we were standing over the
city Then we went south, and afterward went
toward F1tchburg. Some later it began to rain,
and we concluded to make a landing. Rather
unpleasant in a balloon during a rain. The
water gathers ON the balloon, and rolling down
the sides, is focused about the neck and emptied
upon the heads of the passengers. We came to
the ground about 2 O'Clock in the morning.
There was a house a little way off, and I went TO
it and hnllooed. A man came and looked out of
a window. / told him we wanted shelter.
He asked how we came there. He was
told in a balloon. What's a balloon? was the
next question. The air-ship was explained to
him while the rain was falling about us. Could
he accommodate us with a nights l~odsingq He
''guessed not" and shut down the windows. We
tried IA second house with the same il-success.
Then we tried "A third. A voice from way back in
the house asked "Who's theFt4" Tie informa-
tion was given. why don't you go TO a hOtel?'
We turned away, and after walking a mile and a
half, were taken in byfa cOttagerand went to bed.
When we got up there were about a hundred
men waiting outside to be introduced TO MS.
They Informed us that where we now were was
GrotOn junction, and where we had met such
inhOspitality was Gr0tOn Center, and they in
sisted upon going with and assisting in packing
up the balloon to atone for the meanness of their
neighbors. "Won't | write 'em up2" said Has
Kel, and he did. He wrote them up in a humor-
GUS article, as the three wise men OF GrOtOn,
and the article went the rounds. l remember
the name of the man in the first house was
Asa S. Groves. Well, the three villagers encn
wrote an answer to the articles in tIte Herald.
The first one said he was al old mar and didn't
know what a balloon was, the second said he
thought 1t was an attempt to break into his
house, and the third said he had just been mar
ried that night, and under the circumstance
didn't think an excuse necessary.
"Ten years after that [ made an ascension
from the fair az Fltchburg, Mass. sailed along
finely until after q while [ saw a village ahead,
concluded TO settle aud threw out my drag-rope.
A man, when I called, ran out, caught the rope
and gave 1t a couple Of turns around a posi-. As
! got ont the man said: This is the second bal
loon that has come down here
"'ls it, 1 asked. VINO came down here be
fore7'
liking, was the answer.
looked around and asked tho name of the
place. Aver was the answer. 1 had never
heard of it before. Ten or twelve years ago. il
was called Groton,' said the man, 1 looked al
the house and asked who lived there. 4 do,
was the answer. My name is Asa S. Groves.
And mine said l, is King AT this point q
neat little woman came upon the scene. AND
this is Professor King. Oh, 1 am so glad. I'm
Mrs. Asa s. Groves. 1t was my poor old father
who was IN the house. Oh, the newspapers gave
him such a b%erating. He could neither read mol
write, and meant no harm. My husband anG
myself had never been away from the house be
fore in our lives, only that one night, never since
l always told my husband L had an abiding faitl
it would all be right sometime, and SO it has,
az went in, and the honest couple entertained
me handsomely. But Mrs. GrOvess faith was
very superior article, don't you thiukf''