The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-25
LOST IN THE CLOUDS.
AERONAUT KINGS VOYAGE OVER
TIE MAINE WILDERNESS.

CAlnudDite0 region ana carried
Over the Gulf of St. Lawrence "A
Night of Terrible Anxiety Saved
From Drowning by a Friendly Air
Current.
Balloon voysging is not always plain sail
ing from one point 70 another; in fact, such
journeys are necessarily full of mystery in
advance Of their accomplishment. In the
history of balloon sailing some mistakes
have occurred that cost the aeronauts their
lives. Everybody remembers Wise and
Donaldson-the former q We teran, the latter
young but daring aeronaut. At different
times, and from widely separated points,
both terminated their last voyages over the
inhospitable waters Of Lake Michigan
In speaking of Wise and Donaldson a dav
or two ago, Aeronaut King related some
hazardous experiences which have fallen to
youngest was Mary Agnes, aged ii months.
his lot. He made an ascension some years ago
from Plymouth, n. H. 1t was late in the
afternoon when the balloon rose, and it
started off in an ea,sterly direction over a
cultivated country, and soon entered the
clouds, from which mist of rain was fall
ing.
VOYAGE OVER A WILDERNESS.
81 had as fellow voyager," said Mr..
King, IS. L. Holden, of the Boston Journal.
gentleman of remarkable nerve and
GOODNESS under the most trying
circumstances. He had shown this in over
twenty aerial excursions with me- We rose
70 the upper clouds, and witnessed a sonset
scene denied ~ the stay-at-homes on the
earth. An hour passed quickly, and then,
as precautionary measure, descent for
the purpose of observation was attempted.
We found two mountains obstructing our
way, over each of which the balloon had to
be sent again, ere we could obtain a view of
the country. They were Mount Jefferson and
and Mount Adams of the White
mountain range. This we ascer-
tanned subsequently,, on ascertaining
the course we had been pursuing and by
consulting our map. Once below the clouds
again our course was ascertained to be
northeast. We we're flying at q rapid rate
over the great woods of Northern Now
Hampshire and Maine, extending to the
Atlantic on the east and to the Gulf of st.
Lawrence on the north. Lake Umbagog
was in view. Night coming on, we could
not descend.
CAMP FIRE ON UMBAGOG.
while crossing Lake Umbagog we saw
camp fire on one of its banks, too late, how
ever, to profit by 1T. The balloon was low
cred in order that we might be ready to
allght il occasion should favor, but we saw
no furthersign of life below. The drag rope
tTailed for miles over the tree tops, and
eventually enabled us to reach the lee side
OF small mountain; there we came to a
standstil with our car resting among the
topmost branches of the pines. 1t would
have been an easy thing to have de-
scended to the ground by means of
our rope, but from such a dense
wilderness there was little hope of
ever getting out alive; still we took our
time and calmly pOngi6prad oil ba
ties, and then determined to go on. This
resolution seemed desperate enough. and
was based simply on the ground that our
situation could be no worse, under any
circumstances, and we had hope, though
little prospect, of making it better Our
stock of sand ballast was already half
gone, but bag and half of that precious
material still remaining. To make this
hold out long enough to carry us out of a
wilderness hundreds of miles in extent
seemed like one of the impossibilties, but
the attempt vas made, and with what sue
cess we shall see.
NIGHT OF ANXIETY.
"The smallest possible quantity Of sand
was discharged to cause the balloon to rise,
and once more we entered the clouds.
Heavy showers of rain had been falling.
and continued to fall during the night,
which, coursing down the sides Of the globe
above us, poured down in great streams
upon our heads, drenching us completely.
We were not so high at any time but what
we could hear the numerous cascades and
waterfalls prevailing everywhere on our
course. Several times we heard the lonesome
cry OF loon. Every hour seemed an age
of anxiety, but strange to say we never
reached hight at which sufficient expan-
sion of the gas would cause an overflow,
and our ballast remained intact. It
mad become so poised that for
SIX hours it neither rose nor fell. Some
times the clouds would break beneath our
feet, revealing the inky abyss below, and
once or twice the moon was momentarily
revealed to us, but then all closed in again
like prison wall. An unseen hand seemed
to be aiding US in the continuance of our
journey out of this great wilderness, and
our wonderment at our good fortune formed
the burden of our conversation.
ANEW DANGER.
Toward morning, not far from 3o'clock.
we were startled by warning sound that
betokened new danger. The rolling surf
was beating upon the sands directly beneath
wide waste of waters upon
which we were advancing. Travelling
at the rate of not less than forty miles an
hour, there was no possibility of getting
down before reaching the water We acted
deliberately, husba nding gas and ballast to
the last degree ana approaching the water
with such care that the weight of the drag
| rope should lie upon its surface, while the
balloon and car would remain 100 feet or
| more above it. We could see nothing. but
all the sounds of the live-long night had
| died away and absolute silence reigned. At
| last the rope was heard swishing through
the water, and once more we were poised
at a constant hight. A heavy fog seemed
| to hover over the water, and we could
| form no conjecture of our speed or
| direction. We knew the possibilities of
| change of current, but on the supposition
that we were continuing on the same
course, our prospects were not very bright.
HOPE ABOUT GONE.
sit took considerable philosophical regs
oning to make it appear possible that we
should reach some island or come afoul of
some vessel, frightening the mariners out
of their wits, or even to get return cur
rent that should carry US once more to land.
But it was hard for two men, favored as
we had been in getting to the confines of
that vast wilderness, to think that
there was no way to get Off of
the water We kept good
look out for chance opportunity. though
once or twice we both caught ourselves
mapping We had been speeding along for
some time in this way, when suddenly we