Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-03-04
atlistellaueuns &eading.
FAST TO A LOCOMOTIVE.

|
it to tell the boys"
Prof. Kingstadt is one of the most genial
and kindly of men; and 1 did not in the
least hesitate to ask him for q story. His
life had been filled with adventurous Incl
dents for he is an aerOnaut by profession
and an enthusiastic believer in the future
aerial navigation.
The world is much inclined to laugh at
enthusiasts, and call them visionary; but
the world owes great deal to missionary
people," Such men are the pioneers of all
great inventions, and they commonly re-
ceive small remuneration for their lifelong
labOrs.
Here is the professor for example; he is
often without the means to buy good dim
ner, and is obliged to eat poor one. He
might make money in many other voca-
cations but he sticks fast to balloons and
risks his life in making ascents with the
unselfishness of a man who loves his chos-
en- art, and has fullsfaith in it.
He hopes to construct an air-ship which
can be propelled in any required direction !;
and he will spend his life at work on that
problem-and very likely fail to solve it.;
yet-as he says-some one else may take
| it up where he was obliged to leave it,
and carry it on to full achievement.
Twenty-seven years of not altogether sue
cessful experimenting have not yet robbed
his kindling gray eye of one whit of its
interested brightness. Hope still glows
there. 1 wish he might succeed. What a
grand flash of triumph would light his face
and stir his heart! 1t would be sight to
do any one good to witness it.
"Willingly," said the professor. "Any-
thing to amuse the boys. I like boys for
they are always honest critics, and say
what they think. Let me see, my most
| ~. ..:l Nn1I c1, ,N,11
my most thrilling adventure was a very
brief one, yet exciting while it lasted, both
exciting and dangerous, too.
II had assembled that day." he continu-
ed, "from one of the suburbs of Chicago. 1t
was not public occasion exactly, but an eX-
perimental ascent, to test the theory which
a Chicago gentleman then held as to the set
ting of the aerial currents from the western
land board across lake Michigan. His idea
of uniform current at a certain height,
during spring and fall, was capable, if prov
en-, of possible utilization for purposes of
travel between Chicago and Detroit, or Toll
edo, or even to Cleveland. A reporter for
the Tribune went up with me; nice, quiet
young man of twenty or twenty-five, nam
ed Burlington Stevens.
"My balloon was taken to the grounds
adjoining the private residence of the gen.
and filled with city gas by means of hose
connected with one of the street mains.
We got off at two o'clock in the afternoon,
and the weather being quite calm, the bal
loon rose steadily, almost perpendicularly
for distance of four to five thousand feet.
"About that height we encountered pro-
nounced northwest current which at once
carried us off to the southeast-doWn over
the Indiana cornfields. Instead of heading
for Detroit or Cleveland, we were en- route
for indianapolis or Cincinnati, as had full
ly expected. In an hour we were over the
Kankakee river; and seeing no sufficient
object to be served by going, | pulled the
valve rope and we tended gradually down.
ward for fifteen or twenty minutes. BY
this time we had sunk to within thous-
and feet of the eartIt,&hen a stiff ground
err or surface breeze caught us and took us
off to southwest.
'It was about three-thirty in the after
noon and there was good deal too much
air stirring to handle the balloon comfOrta-
bly,, but let her settle to within two hun
dred and fifty feet of the fences and bushes,
and had Just tossed out one of our grapnels,
when Stevens, who had been busily writing
his press account of the ascent looked out
and suddenly exclaimed:
"Professor, there's the railway ahead
cit was branch line of the Northern In
diana, 1 think and at that point the track
ran pretty nearly, east and west: we were
coming from northeast, to cross it diagonal
ly. When the reporter spoke we were a
mile or mile and half, perhaps from it
flying along quite fast.
"'There's a freight train, too! Stevens
added, just coming around that curve from
behind the woods'
"The train, a long, heavy one, was as
much as two miles off when we first saw IT,
steaming ponderously along at twelve. or
fifteen miles an hour; and we were flying
from the northeast to cross it at sharp angle
"'Now, tell you, professor, we shall go
pretty snug to 'em!" exclaimed my COM
paniOn.
"'Yes, but we shall 60 high enough over
'em,' said l.
"'I guess So said he looking down ar the
'em. And now for some fun q! he eXclaim-
ed, seizing long horn which always kept
in the car to blow signal blasts when
needed.
"On came the long train, putting up a
| black cloud of coal smoke; and we had now
| flown up to within hundred rods of them; /;
but saw that we should cross the line
little head of the locomotive. The en-
gineer and fireman were staring at us. SO
were all the brakemen standing on the
cars platform.
"Stevens blew two loud blasts-1oot!
| IOO-OO-OOt!
"Toot! toot !" responded the locomo-
tive.
"Again my fellow-voyager gave them a
fearful blast-as mocking signal for them
| to down brakes and give us the right of
way to cross the line.
"Toot- -toot-toot! from the engine which
meant clear the line
$50 intent were both of us watching the
train, that we never once saw nor thought
of the wires-the telegraph wires. And
when we went over the track little ahead
of the engine our grapnel, streaming along
behind and beneath us, caught on the wires,
and stripping them clear of the posts and
the oncoming locomotive! They caught on
between the whistle and the smokestack.
The wires were strong. So was our rope.
In an instant we were twitched after the
engine-the balloon lunging first almost
down to the ground, then up straight over
the tender
ga loud shout and a volley of railway
eXpletves rose from the engine, and all
along the train. We hung on-for dear
life. We had to cling with all our might,
the car lurched and swung so furiously.
"'Cast off that grapnel, won't you? l
shouted down to the engineer.
"'Shin down the rope, and cast it off
yourselfn yelled the fireman.
"'Yes, you're balloon MANI cried the
engineer. Let's see you shin down that
line.'
"Come nown Stevens called to them,
you may kill us. Slow up, and let us un-
hook, won't YOU"
"Can't do it. Behind time now!' was
all we could get out Of the engineer; and