The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-06-09
SOME BALLOON ADVENTURES
Win yla.ohar. ln s,mAha naa.

ally, one of the Air.ahips cApsiReGl
 above Mission street, and esnptying lts
 passengers into the unoccupied space
 below, killed one of them, with Q
 audiences that was startling, and
 crippled the other for life, and some. time afterward.
 Every Sunday hugo balloon would
 leave WoodwArdh gardens and go
 fOmbling around among the clouds. to the great delight and admira ton of
 vast crowds, which, somehow, seem to be always pleased at seeing other peo-
 pie in the act oi dancing on nothing either as @ronants or the leading man at s hanging bce.
 Tho mania mentioned extended to the newspaper reporters, eventually, and an ambitious reporter, with sufii. cent sand to attempt such an approach of the great white throne, could not be better pleased than to achieve an invitation to go with Professor Some
 body In the direction suggested, In . balloon. Generally tho distinction of being talked about as gallant, and brave. and enterprising. or something of that sort, was tho spur, but have ventured to think, occasionally, that perhaps the thought that they might not ever get nearer heaven in any other manner, may have had some- what to do with tho matter, In spo- radio cases
 One Sunday the professor had inad- vertcntly promised two reporters, representatives of rival newspapers, to take them up with him, and the capacity of his balloon was not sutil. cient for three persons.
 When tho day arrived tho two were promptly on hand, however. Ali Balch for tho Chronicle was one of them. Balch was wisc looking fei- tow who worc glasses, Indeed, he was wise fellow, except in his pas sion for ballooning. He was cultured and brainy; tho son of New Eng land clergyman and, at my last in- formation, engaged on the staii of tho New York World. He was also brother of the famous Boston news paper man Baloh, who by clever piece of detective work captured Chastine Cox, negro who con- mitted, in New York, the mysterious murder of an elderly lady, which for long time puzzled the "slcuths. !" The other aspiring reporter was Ed Clough, who about that timo came near making himself famous as the author of some remarkably excellent dialect sketches in the Arg0ndaf, with such titles as "A Bad Man From Bodie," "rhe Yaller Dog of Gala veras," etc.
 On tho grounds tho professor de- clared that he could take but one of the reporters, and each strongly ln- sisted on going. Finally tho mronaut, being unable to decide between the two, said that hc wouldn't go, where upon Clough declared his eminent ability to run the machine himself, and Balch represented that he was balloonist from "away back" Ithink Clough did know a little something about handling m affair of the kind, but Balch was as ignorant of the thing, practically, as a pig is of phi lology. Nevertheless, the two entered the car and the professor lent hand to help them of. The guy ropes were loosened, and the monster--i think "monster" is the word-arose majestically, and when released as- cended gracefully and rapidly upon vertical line. Having attained a suf. fcient height to catch the air-cur- rents she drifted seaward and the ann ateur gronants soon found themselves hanging out over the Pacific ocean. A tug was sent to sea to watch for them and in the course ofa few hours the balloon began to descend near the Faralone islands. The tug kept pretty well under the balloon and when the latter vessel had come SO near the water that the swell Of the | sea almost touched 1t, Balch, who was an expert swimmer, with an eye to "hedging" on his chances for life, dropped out of the basket. Baich was s heavy weight, and the balloon being | so suddenly relieved of 70 much bal | last, shot up into the air several hun 1 dred feet with almost the velocity of a rocket, but CIough managed to work of enough gas t0 give her sn- other descent. Meanwhile BaIch had been picked up and in s little while the tug had Clough and the balloon safe aboard, and was steaming for the Golden Gate.
 On the following Sunday Con Ma hony, an Irish reporter who was working on the Post, and who is now on Chicago paper, went up with the professor in the same balloon. Con had once been lieutenant in the Pe. ruvian navy and he was fond of dilat- | ing upon the fact. The connection, herewith, will appear further on.
 Upon the occasion of Cons air v0y- age the balloon concluded to go out