Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-09-03

From an article on Amateur Balloon
ing in the September Century We quote
os follows: As nearly as could be judg
ed, | was more than a mile high, and all
sounds from the earth had ceased, There
was a death-like silence which was simply
awful. 1t seemed to my Overstrained
nerves to forbode disaster. The ticking
of the watch in my pocket sounded like a
triphammer. | could feel the blood as
1t shot through the veins of my head and
arms. My straw hat and the willow car
snapped and cracked, being contracted
by the evaporation of the moisture in
them and by the fast-cooIing temperature.
| was compelled to breathe a little quick
or than usual on account of the raritv of
the atmosphere. | because sensible of a
loud, mOnotOnous hum III my ears, pitch
ed about on middle c of the piano, which
seemed to bore into my head from each
side, meeting in the center with a pop;
then for an instant my head would be
clear, when the same experience would be
repeated. By throwing out small pieces
of tissue -waper | saw that the balloon was
still rapidly ascending. While debating
with myself as to the advisability of pull
ing the valve-rOpe / was afraid to touch
it for fear il would break and discharg-
ing some gas, the earth was lost sight of
and the conviction was forced upon me
that this must be the clouds, 1t makes
me dizzy to think of it. Above, below.
and upon all sides was a dense, damp,
chilly fog. Upon looking closer, large
drops of rain could be seen, silently fall
ing down out of sight into what seemed
bottomless space.
Il was alone, a mile from the earth, in
the midst of Il rain cloud and the silence
of the grave Moreover, had sole charge
of the balloon; if it had not been for this
fact | could have taken n little comfort,
aS | had no confidence 10 my ability to
manage it. A rainstorm upon earth is
accompanied by noise; the patter of the
rain upon the houses, trees, and walks
always attends the storm; while here, al
though the drops were large, they could
not be heard falling upon the balloon or
its belongings. Silence reigued supreme.
The quiet spoken of by DIR. Kane and
other Artic explorers as existing in the
northern regions, was a hubbub beside
this place. More tissue-paper was thrown
out seeing that it seemed to ascend, |
knew that the apparatus was slowly de
scending, being brought down by the
weight of rain upon it. Soon the
earth was in view. How peaceful and
quiet ii looked, Immediately the whistl-
ing of railroad trains could be heard.
Now mountains could be distinguish
ed from valleys, and the cawing of
frightened cows and the shouting of men
could be heard. l passed Immediately
over Tallcott Mountain tower, where
there were some two hundred people en-
ioying the day. l could plainly hear
one of them blowing a horn. As the balloon
slowly descended men could be seen run
ming from all sides towards the place of
landing. Now the hum of insects could
be heard, and the grapnel, with hundred
feet of rope attached was, thrown out; it
soon struck the ground, and dragged
lazily along through the turf and over
the stones without getting a secure hold.
| approached a man weighing three
hundred pounds, who was sitting upon a
stone wall all out of breath from running
Without the formality of an introduction
| asked him to catch on to that anchor
and stop the business. With a woe be
gone look upon his honest face and an
ominous shake of the head he replied;
It's no use, young fellow: 1 can't work
my bellows But as the rope twitched
along uear him. he fell upon it, and my
journey was ended