San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-02-10

look, suddenly filled with startled and
fearful awe as speeches. he raised his
hand and pointed toward the sky. The
man nearest to him, who had been an
interested listener, catching the aston
ishment and terror in the boys eyes,
turned quickly, and shrill shont es-
capped his lips. At the same moment
hoarse sound of many voices arose, and
all hurried to the doorway to behold
sweeping up the slope an object new to
Evans Cullen
1t was large silk balloon. The dying
suns rays, already lost behind the hills,
fell on its sides, causing it to resemble
huge ripe pear hanging in the hue vault.
The basket had a solitary occupant,
who was making signs to the people at
the eastern end of the gulch to catch his
anchor rope. They stood in amazed de-
light, however, and the monster came
sweeping along, the ropes end trailing
up the street until Gale, seeing the OBJ
iect of the aerial voyager's shouts and
signs, cried:
Get hold of his rope, boys, and stop
him.
A moment more a laughing, rolling
mass of men hilariously tumbled over
each. other in their efforts to seize the
rope, like lot of frolicking boys, and
an instant later the giant mass swayed
and tossed few feet from the ground
in front of 'Keenan's joint"
The aeronaut, leaning from his basket
car, directed them to draw him down,
and alighted among them with CRATE
full word of thanks. He was man of
about forty-five, brown bearded, pale
and serious, but there was a firm look
in his blue eyes that showed pluck and
skill, and his mouth, clean cut, tritle
thin, but graceful, gave evidence of de-
termination and perseverance.
The first words of the aerial visitor
after thanking 1.-The boys" were earthly
and fleshly.
Can | get anything to eat here, gen.
tlemen?" instinctively addressing Gale
Whitley.
THE best in the landr' readily replied
Gale. Anything in reason from soda
crackers to canvasback ham. We're
out of whisky, but there's lots of beer in
camp yet Come in, stranger. while we
tie your boss"
This proceeding, however, the stranger
directed and assisted in explaining that
he feared lest Impractical hands might
cause the loss of precious gas. He then
entered the building, one story struc-
ture, with very wide doorway, where
the faro table, in full view of the street,
occupied the central space, with many
stools and narrow chairs scattered about.
The lean boy who had first espied the
balloon had been dispatched to procure
the guest some lunch, and he made such
haste that he returned with it by the
time the stranger had seated himself.
Surrounded by the crowd of rough, long
haired and bearded men he presented a
striking contrast to them in his neat at
tire. Had he walked into Evans Gulch
| in Norfolk jacket, knee breeches and
cork helmet it is highly probable that
he would have met with a far different
| reception and been treated with the
scorn and contempt of the entire popu-
lace in their own wild western way.
But his attire was beftting his advent,
| the first of the kind that the Gulch had
been treated to, and the Gulchers saw
nothing inappropriate in his costume.
Balloons were unique, so were bal
| loonists clothes, was the natural YER
dict, unspoken, almost unthought. Yet
all eyed him curiously, while kindly, and
waited impatiently the completion of his
modest repast.
His eyes were busy, too, roaming
frankly from face to face in a way that
somehow told them he was "sizing them
up" as Gale expressed it afterward,
glancing at the faro table, the specimens
Of quartz, porphyry, lead ores and car
Donates upon the narrow shelf on the
wall and the big broken roulette wheel
in the corner, tilted up on its side to af.
ford more room to eager gamblers around
the faro table.
When he had finished Gale tossed the
paper in which the lunch had beer
brought into the street and said: "Now
stranger, let's hear your story. This il
the first time we've had a balloon III
here, and we're naturally interested"
The stranger, with a good naturet
smile, looked around at the eager, tot
hardened and sin hardened faces-man,
of them-and began:
my name is Pierce-H. R. Pierce, o
San Francisco. left Denver the da
before yesterday in the balloon, and wa
carried south till near Colorado Springs
where the current changed and carrie
me northwest. | was compelled to re
main in the car, the nature of the cour
try not permitting an easy landing.
am making an attempt to cross the COZ
tinent IN a balloon. That is my story