The Indianapolis journal., 1883-06-25
AT SEA IN A BALLOON.
Details of the Voyage of NJ. L'Hoste Across
tine English Channel

tine English Channel
Brussels Special to London Telegraph.
M. L'Hoste, young man of engaging
manners, / found to-day looking very pale
and fatigued from the perilS to which he had
so recently been exposed. He is suffering
most from giddiness, but hopes that days
rest will set him up again. As soon as his
health shall be quite restored, he assured me
with much earnestness that he will make an
other effort to cross the channel, and ex-
pressed himself confident of ultimate sue
cess NJ. l. Hoste said that after various pre-
liminary trips last week, in company with
bis friend, M. Eloy, he determined 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
h0aset the for weather es 0GsHd nsSa6o 600
and energetically endeavored to
dissuade him from his purpose but without
success. Even Eloy's refusal to encourage
his rashness by accompanying him had no eff
feet upon his obstinate resolution to make
the trip. Accordingly at midnight on Fri
day the balloon Pilastre de Roster cast off and
rapidly ascended.
Almost Immediately the weather, which
had been hazy all the evening, set in very
thick, the result being that L'Hoste passed
the night in the midst of a fog, which not
only chilled him TO the marrow, but pre-
vented nlm from cDtalnlng tne ieasJ luea
whittier he was drifting or even II he were
moving at all. However, tbe weather cleared
on Saturday morning. when to his no small
disgust, he found himself out at sea in the
neighborhood of Cape Grisnez. He at once
threw out ballast in order, if possible, to find
a favorable current, and soon rose to
height of 1000 meteres, at which altitude he
suffered severely, his face being half roasted
by the heat of the sun, while his feet were
numbed and almost frozen. Two hours later
he found himself over town of some sort,
and drawing the valve line descended rap
idly, and with the assistance of passers-by
cast anchor on the esplanade at Dunkirk.
Being determined to perseyere, he calmly
took breakfast in his car, surrounded by
gaping crowd, and afterward increased his
store of ballast Noticing favorable change
in the wind, he ungrappled and rose gradu-
ally to height of 5000 metres.
He must have travelled quickly. for he
soon found himself over the sea, off the coast
of Belgium. Far up among the clouds he
found terrible difference in the weather,
for, almost without warning, he sailed into
violent storm wave. Here the beating of
the rain, the heavy gusts of wind and the
loud reyerberations of the thunder put the
stability of the balloon to fearful and un-
forseen test. The whole fabric was con-
yulsed with continuous vibrations, and
tossed and pitched in manner which made
it difficult for the giddy and benumbed aero
nant to keep his hold on the car. However,
with some difficulty he managed to open the
valve and descended at noon on Saturday to
within, as far as he could calculate, 500
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 finding the ele-
ments more propitious, but the storm was
still raging up in the clouds, and he there
F.. al.
sea- As the afternoon wore on he noticed
with alarm that the gas in his balloon was
dangerously decreasing, and he began to re-
aiize his peril.
At o'clock the ropes dangling from the
car touched the sea, and he knew that the
critical time had come. The whole of his
ballast, of which the car could hold but
comparatively limited supply, had by this
time become completely exhausted. He at
once threw out, one after another, instru-
ments, cases, and indeed every movable arti-
Gle in the car. But the balloon responded
languidly, and in a very few minutes the car
itself touched water. and the sea broke furi-
sly almost every minute clean over the
car, drenching its unhappy occupant to the
skin. The ropes and lines too were dashed
about in a bewildering manner, and
these combined horrors almost made
NJ. LHoste despair, when he
caught sight of the sails of a fishing
lugger which turned out to be the Noemi.
The captain of the Noemi almost simulta-
neously caught sight of the balloon, which
he for some time took to be a ship on fire.
and maneuvered round and round accord
ingly. When, however he ascertained what
the strange craft really was, he at once
launched boat, and with immense difficult
ty rescued the aeronaut from a fate which,
but for his timely appearance. would not
have long been delayed. L'Hoste found he
had been rescured within ten miles of the
English coast. He and the balloon. which
had burst, were taken aboard the Noemi and
landed at Antwerp shortly after midnight
L Hoste is full of gratitude to the captain of
the Noemi.