Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-08-05
FLYING ABOVE THE SEA.
A TRIP THROUGH THE CLOUDS
FROM DENMARK TO SWEDEN.
Taking Plunge Into the Chilly Waters
of the Baltie-A Midnight Flight from
Copenh agen-The Trumpet That Startled
the Natives.

the Natives.
In 1871, says Rufus Gibson Wells, tn,
veteran Philadelphia aeronaut, made sew
eral noteworthy aerial voyages from Copen
hagen, tie beautiful and very interestins
capital o. Denmark The directors of tn,
famous Tvoli garden, one of the largest anC
finest in the world, had read the description
of the gigantic aerial machine IT'S fee
in length, which l built for the French
government in 1870, and requested me t,
construct new one of the same shape, bu
of much less dimensions, with which to max,
my ascension from their spacious garden
Many hundred yards of fine linen were oh
tanned instead of silk, and a cigar SHAPED
aerostat of 100 feet in length and so in
diameter was soon manufactured in one o.
the immense dancing halls at the Tivoli
THOUGHT GABRIEL HAD COME
An INN ense multitude came to witness tn,
hrst ascent An American traveller and
Danish Photographer, Mr.. Schroeder, con
Guided to accompany me on the trip acros
the channel, or sound, thirty miles wide, tt
Sweden The wind was favorable for sucf
an excursion. As we intended to make &
trip of several hundred miles over Sweder
and Norway If the wind permitted, we wer,
provided with plenty to eat, with scientific
instrunen ts for observations in the higher
regions, life preservers, etc. / had con
structed fine life dress of rubber similar ts
the one used by Capt Boyton in his wild ad
ventures in many lands.
The band played the Star Spangled Ban
ner" as flung our national flag to the breez,
and gave orders to let go the ropes W,
scared aloft majestically, amid the shouts o.
the multitude 1t was a glorious day. Tn,
grand old city, with its ancient walls anc
houses, and its picturesque palaces and ro
mantle gardens, its thousands of vessels in it.
spacious harbor, decorated with flags of al
nations, IL distant shores of Sweden, and tn,
placid Baltic beneath us, all presented pic
ture of varied interest and beauty. As W,
passed over the ships and steamers we coule
distinctly hear the cheers and shouts of tht
sailors. We soon reached the altitude of on,
mile, and enjoyed a charming view of the tive
klngdoms as We gradually approached tn,
shore of Sweden, about two miles west o.
Malmo.
AS nigh came on We found our course was
toward the northeast, and we hoped to b,
able to make a long journey over Sweden be
fore morning, as we had plenty of gas ant
ballast. DIR. Schroeder had long trumpe
with which he would now and then give ter
came near the earth, to learn over what par
of Sweden we were travelling. We had al
excellent map of the kingdom, which we coule
examine on our way without any danger o.
an explosion, as the mouth of the balloon wa
well tied while the lamp was in use Our Da
nish friend could speak the Swedish language
and when we informed the farmers that ",
had left Copenhagen only a few hours befor,
dark they could hardly believe it. Wher
they heard the horn or trumpet above then
they could not imagine what it meant. We
learned afterward that some of them thought
that Gabriel was surely coming at last.
In order to move more rapidly we ascendet
sometimes above the clouds. There we met
current hat bore US eastward After sail
ing nearly hundred miles over Sweden VIZ
found thai we were rapidly approaching the
Baltic in the direction of st. Petersburg If
had been alone would have crossed the Baltic
to Russia Or Finland. did not feel justified
however, in running the risk of being lost in
the sea with my companions, although We
had considerable ballast and plenty to eat
and drink. We might have passed safely
over to Russia in a few hours, or if we were
forced to descend we no doubt would have
been rescued by some vessel, as there are
many of them constantly traversing the Baltic
during the summer
COMPLETELY BAPTIZED.
As the coast was covered with trees, con.
cluded to descend into the sea- so as not tc
wreck my balloon / put on nv life dress
and took my stand on the concentrating hoor
and pulled the valve cord. There being some
wind we we're carried nearly half a mile from
the shore before we strucA the water NV
Yankee friend stood up in the car, but the
Dane, who weighed over two hundred pounds
kept his seat, and, being on the side that
struck the sea first, he was completely bap-
tlzed, and came up blowing like whale as
the balloon recovered from the shock. The
large anchor soon caught in the shallow bay
and kept Us from drifting out to sea. Having
the Boyton life dress on, | did not get wet.
but my friends suffered little from the cold
wsher, since it was late in the The
lane DieW bis trumpet and soon we saw a
light, and some fishermen came and carried
us ashore al a small fisherman's village, about
one hundred miles from Copenhagen
We obta med means to return and transport
the balloon back to Copenhagen Long CO
scriptions Of our journey We're published in
Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and / was
requested 10 visit Stockholm and Christiana,
the capitals. i prepared to make another
ascension from the Tivoli and again to cross
the channel to Sweden, the public having be-
come greatly excited over it. As the royal
family had taken great interest in the enter
prise and some of them expressed a desire to
make captive ascents with me, the managers
concluded 20 arrange powerful windlass and
a cable to Use on the next occasion previous
to the free ascent.
Several Of the officers took much pleasure
in the captive ascents, and said they would
like to cross the Baltic with me if / would
agree to return them the next day / said
that it was my desire to reach the most nor
thern part Of Norway or pass over Sweden to
Finland should the wind be favorable, and
therefore | would not make any promises
when / should return. The American was SO
enchanted with his romantic ride above the
clouds, and our fine reception by the fair fish
ing maids ON the shore of the Baltic, that he
asked permission to cross the channel with
me again. We made a delightful trip, and as
the wind oied away we concluded to land
near a college a few miles from Malmo, where
we were invited by an engineer who could
speak Engis ish to remain with his family until
We desired to return next day to Denmark by
the steamer from Malno no-Philadelphia Press.
Lord Bute's Fairy Mansion.
The largest and costliest private mansion
in the world is that belonging to Lord Butte.
called "Montstuart," and situated near Roth
esay, England 1t covers nearly two acres,
is built in gothic style; the walls, turrets and
balconies ire built of stone. The immense
tower in the center of the building is 100 feet
high, with a balcony around the top. The
halls are &C i,structed entirely of marble and