The times., 1898-06-26
FIRST WOMAN BALLooNIsT.
Mrs. Hubben Went UP Nearly Fifty
Yeurs Ago,


Mrs. Lucretia Bradley Hubbell. now
living at Norwich, Conn, was the first
woman to go UP in balloon. The as
cension was made at Easton, Pa, March
25, 1855. AT that time Mrs. Hubbell was
twenty-seven years old. The ascension
was a decided success, and the papers of
those days eXtolled the achievement as
/ one of the most marvellous with which
woman was accredited.
! Although forty-three years have come
and gone since that day so eventful TO
Mrs. Hubbell. and she now is a wrinklad
old lady of seventy. she retains the mem
ory of the ascension as clearly as If 1t
We're not more than a week ago. She
told the story of her flight through the
air the other day, and the tenacity of her
/ memory Is shown in the following. a lit
erai Transcript OF her own words:
II rose with perfect csfmness and great
| velocity to a height of over two miles,
my whole feelings being those of inde-
scribable tranquility and gratified delight.
| There was no perceptible breeze until
reached the highest point of my voyage.
directly over the Delaware. when four
heavy currents struck my balloon on all
sides with equal force. Finding my bal
loon full L opened the valve three times
in succession. and while letting off gas
| as fast as l could the balloon at the
same time rapidly efnptying itself from
the mouth. very strong undercurrent
forcing up the mouth of the balloon caus-
ed roaring like the ocean in heavy
storm. followed by a noise like the dis
charge of cannon and a sudden fall Of
about 100 feet.
Il then looked up and saw the balloon
all shattered, with the exception of two
| nipceS heipo nra-aiphfh the
| size of the balloon. One formed para
! chute in the top of the network and the
other sail at the side. These bore me
off eastward. The wind rocked the car
violently at the time and for ten minutes
| succeeding. Knowing my situation, L had
no feeling of fright or anxiety whatever,
but TRANQUILITY trusting in that same AL
mighty power | always loved to trust,
prepared myself in the best possible man.
ner | could for my descent, believing ]
should land safely.
81 threw out my sand and graphing
iron. placed myself firmly In the car In an
| upright position, my hands extended
clasped the handles on each side. 1 al
ternately looked on each side and admired
| the grandeur and beauty OF the scene; in
fact, l spent ten minutes singing song
of praise to the Creator of such q scene
of beauty and sublime grandeur.
Rapidly descending, 1 landed safely but
with great force in the center Of a large
clover field in Still Valley, N. j.,
miles from EastOn, at half past II O'CLOCK
a. m, having been up just half an hour
twenty minutes of which was after the
bursting of the balloon.
The balloons of fifty years ago dif
| fered more in material than shape from
those OF today. Then strong India sill
was used. Now they use more cottor
and linen. The balloon in which, ascend
ed was made OF strong silk. It was the
cold atmosphere that caused the exD1o.
sion. The balloon car was richly trim,
med with gold and silver tassels and Ions
| streamers of red, white and blue ribbon
all over the car. The flags on each side
of the car were made of the same mate
rial ribbon, trimmed with pure silver
stars taken from fan that was owned
by my grandmother Clapp OF Boston
| long before the War of 1912. The rec
velvet skirt of my hippodrome eostum:
was covered with the same silver stars
The cap and shoes for the occasion wer,
presented by DR.. John Boree Dodds.
Il afterwards built another balloon an(
stationed it at Elmira. y. Y. during tn
State fair. I spent there $1,000 IN build
ing a scientific machine to manufactur,
gas on an improved plan. Let me tel
you that there is no dizziness in rising il
a balloon. BY natural force you are at
tracted to the car. which attracts smaI
| objects just as the earth does