The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-07-15
A PERHOUS TRIP.
Travelling $50 Miles In Thirteen Hours in
Balloon.

-
Tell me something about the most
perilous voyage you ever made?" was
demanded of Prof. King, the aeronaut
s'Weil, let me see The most perilous
voyage, l think, was over the Maine
and Canada wilderness from New
Hampshire down to the Gulf of st. Law
renee. We assembled from Plymouth
and rose into the clouds. A slight rain
was falling. Our course was north
west, and soon we found overselves
over one of the White mountains, and
we had to throw out ballast to keep
from striking it. After passing over
Mount Jefferson and Mount Adams, of
the White mountains, we plunged into
the wilderness, or at least passed over
it About nightfall, as we were cross
ing Lake Umbagog, we saw a light on
one of the shores, and hallooed. We
seemed to attract attention, but no
response was made. A canoe was put
down in the water, and we could see it
lodging around in the water as if they
were looking for something. They
thought the cry probably came from
somebody out of the water. We soon
left the light behind, and, nearing the
mountain shortly afterward, we dropped
behind it in shelter and rested for about
half an hour. While we were discussing
(by the by, had Luther L. Holden, Of
the Boston Journal, with me, who had
been on some twenty-five voyages be-
fore) what course it would be best to
pursue, being in the wilderness and
poorly provided with provisions, we
finally decided to start the balloon
afioat and see if we could cross the
wilderness to some inhabited region in
Canada. Our balloon was only of
twenty thousand feet capacity, and not
calculated, except under such a stress of
circumstances, to remain ahoat so long
as we would require to cross the wilder
ness We had still, however, a bag
and half of ballast left, which we
were economically using. just here
there was a natural law to be discover
ed, which was of itself sufficient to carry
us through without the use of ballast.
1t appears that at night when balloon
reaches the ordinary cloud heights it
becomes poised, and neither rises nor
falls without any expenditure of sand
or ballast, and SO will float for hours,
provided the balloon is free from leak
age. Well, we fioated on in the clouds,
which were occasionally over our heads,
and once or twice during the night we
saw the moon through the riffs, and
frequently they would break from be-
meath us, so that we would look into an
inky abyss below. The only sounds
that came TO our ears were the occa-
sional cries of a loon and the sound of
falling waters. From our isolated posi-
ton we could constantly hear the latter.
'As hour after hour dragged tediously
away we sat in the car. We could see
each other and kept up a conversation,
but we could not tell what time it was
except by passing our fingers over the
hands of our watches. You know it
would have been dangerous to strike a
match. Pretty soon a new feature
among the sounds of the waters struck
our ears. We wondered what caused
the peculiar noise, and finally concluded
it was the breakers. After passing
over them, all sounds ceased, and we
then knew we were on the briny deep.
As it did not seem to be policy to pursue
the course we were in, we brought the
balloon down slightly and slowly some
twenty or thirty miles from where we
had heard the surf, and deposited our
drag-rope upon the water. This rope
is an appendage to the balloon, about
$50 feet long, and acts as ballast when
it rests upon the water. We kept con-
slant watch, and in the course of an
hour we saw in front of us a black line,
which was apparently within few feet
of us, and we prepared to grasp it, but
it proved an illusion. and as we watched
the object it gradually widened, and
soon after our drag-rope was caught
among the tree-tops. We then found
that we had run ashore over forest,
presuming it at the time to be an island,
but as it turned out the balloon had met
with a counter current of air on the
water, which carried it back to the
mainland. We again rested behind
hill, where we lay till the break of day,
when we threw out the remainder of our
ballast and rose again.
After a while we discerned q road
and succeeded in landing within a mile
and half of it. We made for the
nearest place-Sayebee-which is about
250 miles below Quebec, and learned
that the water we had gone out on was
the Gulf of St Lawrence. If we had
continued across it we would have
reached the coast of Labrador, $50
miles farther on. As it was, we travelled
$50 miles in thirteen hours. l have
been ballooning for many years.
Richmond (Va.) Dispatch.