The San Francisco call., 1897-03-26
UP IN A BALLOON,
The Aeronaut Tells Story Out of His
Experience in the Profession.

The Aeronaut Tells Story Out of His
Experience in the Profession.
Something or other suggested the sub
ject. and the tall man who sat at the hotel
table where he couldn't see the man oppo-
site owing to the caster which stood be-
tween stuck his fork into potato and be-
gan talking.
II suppose" he said, "that when Elijah
went to heaven in hand basket he liked
it and it was all right, but as for me I'd
rather go by land"
The men at the foot of the table looked
up Questioningly.
"By the graveyard, of course, mean"
hastily explained the talker. you see
this aerial navigation business amt any
good after you've had a 'rassle' with it
that pulls all of mans nerves out by the
roots, twists them around stump and
then begins to yank and saw on them.
Y'understand what mean? / used to be
an aeronaut. I did. guess must have
made a thousand ascensions. Out in my
State for long time no county fair was
complete without me, and l got the to-
biography of the State down SO fine from
my birdseye view of it that could draw u
map of the whole layout with my eyes
shu,. Great thing it was to be sailing
through the air in them days, and l
L
until one fine afternoon rope broke In a
ticklish place and it gave me kind OF
nervous fit, just as it does railroad en-
gineer when he has an accident and ism {
hurt that anybody can see. Just the same
he is hurt, and SO was l, but kept on; so
does the engineer.
"After that. though, I didn't go up feel
ing quite as sassy as I used to feel, and
sometimes as / would go shooting up
w rH hor rH q urnnnd
was in case man had to light sudden.
always done a trapeze act in connection
with my performance, and, if | do say it
| myself, it wasn't any slouch of trapeze
show. And / didn't like that half as well
after the rope broke as did before, either.
| Indeed, l begun to think the whole dern
| balloon business wasn't what it was
cracked up to be. / was thinking abou.
| tying a rope around my waist so as to
catch hold of things if fell, but l didn'i
| like to do that, though there was about
| 100 feet of rope had hung out as an
anchor or grab, with hook on the end to
help me to land when the show was over.
when l retired from business there
was State fair going on that week, and
/ went up every day. 1t was fine day.
with just enough wind to move the bal
loon along majestic, as the papers said
and when shot up was so nervous that
l actually said my prayers as L saw the
| ground dropping away from me. But
| I took brace on myself, and began
my trapeze act the balloon going
up faster than I ever felt it. BY
| the time l was up half a mile my
turn was to swing with my knees around
| the bar, which looked mighty danger
Gus, but it really wasn't any worse than il
| l had been in theater without a net.
| We'll, / give myself the swing and l never
did know why, but l lost my grip, and
with a swish I felt myself fy out into
space The Lord knows what thought
about, but it wasn't for long, for l didn't
know any more until l came to in the
room at the hotel where l was stopping.
"Come off," interrupted the man at the
foot of the table. You can't Tell this
crowd you fell half mile and didn't get
killed. You are plain, unvarnished liar,
| that's what you are
you're another if you say said fell
half mile" responded the retired aero
naut, and it looked as if there might be q
scrap.
what did do" he continued, wher
peace was restored, "was to strike that an
chor line within ten feet of the end Of it a.
it traiIed under me, and by some act of {
merciful providence the anchor flew
around my body and caught the rope
above, thus looping me in. There hung
until the balloon came down, and as every
body below saw the accident you may
| imagine that had a big reception when
landed, though l didn't know anything
about it. 1 did know, though, that
couldn't tempt providence twice, and 30
| quit and went to editing country news
paper. which is more lingering than fall
| ing out OF balloon.'-New York Sun.