The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-07-19
AN AERONAUT DROWNED.
Campbell's Air-Ship Collapses at Sea-Belief
that Professor Hogan Is Lost

NEW YORK, July 1S.-Pilot Phelan, of the
pilot-boat Caprice, who brought the bark
Belt into port, reports that on July 16 he
sighted from the masthead, at a long dis
tance away, balloon dragging its car
along the surface of the water. He gave
chase to it, but at sundown, when short
distance from it. it collapsed, and disap-
peared from sight. 1t is believed to be
Campbelps air-ship. which contained Prof.
Hogan. There seems to be no longer any
reason to doubt that he is dead.
Pilot Phelan was seen at the Office of the
pilot commissioners this afternoon. He
said: "At $50 o'clock on the afternoon of
Tuesday last, when we were about $50 miles
south southeast of Sandy Hook. running be-
fore stiff twenty-fve-mile north by north
west breeze. the lookout alcft sighted two
schooners and a peculiar-looking object
lying near them on the surface
of the ocean. One of the two schooners
was to leeward of the object, which the
lookout took to be a square rigger, and
was bearing northward. The second
schooner was bearing east by southeast:
after O'Clock made her out to be balloon
about fifty to sixty feet in diameter. She
was in longitude no 3O,' latitude S9o So
''As it was getting dark, and we knew
that probably some one was in danger in
the balloon, we crowded on extra sail,
and fairly flew over the water toward it.
At about o'clock, one hour and a half
after we had first sighted the balloon.
when we were about one hundred yards
from it the balloon parted from some heavy
dragging along, and flew up into the air.
When several hundred feet above the
surface of the sea 1t was caught in the
north by northwest wind, and went before
1T east by southeast at the rate of about
twenty-five miles an hour.
when we first sighted the balloon and
drew close enough to make her out she was
egg-shaped, and Juggling very hard at what
must have been the car. About five ropes
held her to the car. which was buried sew
assuming all kinds of shapes. initiating and
collapsng. At the last try it collapsed at
the end, and, assuming the shape of a
pumpkin. arose in the air. There was moth
ing hanging to the ropes of the balloon.
IF Prof. Hogan was In the balloon when
we came up with her. then he was drowned.
Assistance could not have been rendered to
him by the schooner / spoke of as being to
leeward and bound northward. 1t is not
at all improbable the schooner bound
east by southeast will have something to
say when she arrives at her destination.
We cruised over the spot Ill which the
balloon and its car parted. There were
no signs of life, no evidence that q human
being had found his death in the water.
There were no floating objects Every
thing was as quiet and as calm as a mill
pond. AT the time heavy haze prevailed,
though the sky was clear"
Hogan was forty-six years old and had
made over 400 successful balloon aScensions
and thirty-two parachute jumps in the TWEEN
ty-eight years he has followed the danger
Gus business. He was regarded as the fore
most aerOnaut In the world. Some of his
friends are still hoping that he may be
alive and injured, and landed in some out.
of-the-way place. He had a contract to ap-
pear i'll Ottawa, Canada, tomorrow to
make jump. and they regarded his absence
overtaken him, otherwise they say he
would surely appear to perform his con-
tract if he had to crawl on his hands and
knees to do So