The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-09-19
Battle For Life.
The German aeronaut Wolf recent

during a trip in a balloon from the
Grounds Of the Cologne exhibition OF
the art of war, says the New York
Sun. Incompany with Peter Schmitz
and q manufacturer named Deepen
heuer, he started in the balloon Stoll-
werk at 1 o'clock on cloudy after
noon. The balloon flew one mile al
most straight upward into the thick
of storm. Wolf, fearful Of the
strong winds and hail around him.
decided to make landing as soon
as possible.
There was nothing but woods
and woods under u.s." he said subse-
quently. "The balloon descended
with violent rapidity. I finally dis
covered a little clearing on a steep
mountain side, and prepared to anch-
or. The balloon descended more
slowly, and the people who had OBJ
served US, hurried together under
meath to help US land. l drew the
ventilator a little farther open and
motioned to Schmitz to get out.
Depenheuer alighted, and all was
well, when suddenly a whirlwind
struck us. A terrible jerk sends me
on my back in the car. l jump up to
find all things SWIMMING down, down
below me, and two men clinging
helplessly to the edge of the car, I
catch the nearest one, peasant who
tried to assist in the landing. Too
late! His strength is gone; he let's
go, and hear with horrible distinct
ness the mufled thud of his BODY on
the ground.
'My heart sickens, but rally to
save my friend Schmitz, who still
sticks to the cars side. Already the
clouds are sinking beneath us. We
are at least two miles above the
earth. try to raise Schmitz into
the car, but he has sunk so far down
from the edge that I can hardly
grasp his wrists, and he is to weak
to make an effort for himself. Both
OF us groan our despair, for all Seems
over. Slowly and painfully l raise
him a little, set my teeth in the back
of his coat, and endeavor to bind
him fast with the storm line. A few
moments drag by in hope and de-
spair, and l finally succeed in fasten-
ing the rope under his arms and
in tying him to the car. There is no
safety in the device, however, for
Schmitz to lose consciousness Tor an
instant his body would relax and he
would slip away. I call to him.
Spread out your arms! Spread out
your arms!' heard his body move
in response to my admonition, but
his voice is lost to me.
"All this has occupied 25 minutes,
and we have in the meantime been
slipping upward. Everything now
depends upon our making quick
landing. draw open the valve, and
we begin falling. We plunge into a
n great storm. The balloon spins
around in circles, and sways about
like a drunken man. Rain, hail,
thunder and lightning sweep over us.
The balloon reels so that I must lie
on my face to remain in the car.
.Peter! ~Peter!, call to my friend.
Hold fastl Only hold fast!"
"No respone for he cannot hear
me. The agitation of the balloon
has loosened the rope and he has
sagged back again, down the side
OF the car, SO l can see
only his fnger-tips on the
edge. l creep to the side of the
car, seize his wrist with my left
hand, and with my right hand
and teeth I tug at the valve.
81 cannot hold out longer,
comes in a weak voice from Schmitz,
i am slipping away
d" One minute; only q minute
more" I cry back, and we will be
there
"The nearer we come to the ground,
however, the more violent becomes
the oscillation of the balloon. FL
naily we slip over a house, a barn,
and drop like a shot to the ground.
"'Let go!' shout to Schmitz, and
jump away from the anchor
He obeys, and the balloon, 1915
pounds lighter, scars upward. l
pull at the valve with all my
strength, till the anchor catches
small tree. But the tree gives way,
and with the rebound thecar springs
up to the balloon, and fo< a moment
l hang on almost by my teeth. The
anchor catches again in a tree. Again
jerk, a crack, a rebound, and / am
tossed abont like ball. Once more
the anchor catches, and / find my
self just above the top Of a dense old
cedar. Head first l dive into the
branches, and fall from bough to
bough until reach the ground. The
anchor rattles near me. Another
tree breaks, and the balloon sails off
to the northeast.
II had landed near Give. In an
hour 1 had the Whole neighborhood
out looking for Schmitz. He was
not to be found. Dead thought,