The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-03-10
BALLOON PERILS.

mo" said the Aeronaut; call a mis-
take, l assure you. 1t is the knock al
the erd which hurts, not the fall
through tie air."
l had raised the subject of balloon
Daiiis, and referred to the generally &C
ceptsd view that by the time a man
who GAS fallen from great height, has
reached the ground his interest in the
world is already at an end. 1 did not
argue thepoint with Mr.. Percival Spencer.
ae has had experience of tumbiing
down several thousand feet; have not
And, after all, important as the ques-
tion may be to the psychologist in his
arm chair, it is Of no practical import
ance to the man who is failing-that is
10 say, IL the event is taking place un-
der circumstances that perclude any
personal control.
You want to hear of something in
Volving danger to myself as an aeron-
aut, said Mr.. Spencer. Il had rather
an exciting experience once at Calcutta
was to make a balloon ascent follow
ed by parachute descent, but when it
came to initiating the balloon, l found
there was scarcity of gas.
I'VE did our best, for thousands of
people were assembled but when the
shades of night began to gather, it be-
came evident that it was useless to ex-
pect the balloon to lift the parachute
as well as myself. What was to lie
Gone? There was the multitude of Gag
er spectators, and / was most anxious
not to disappoint them. At length l
came to resolution, and it was to as
cend without car, valve, anchor, or bal
last Did l do it? Yes, certainly.
Many did not believe l meant II, but
when they saw the balloon shooting up
towards the clouds, they did. 1t rose
TO twelve thousand feet. 1t was cold at
this height, and the small sling of rope
on which l sat was not the most COM
PORTABLE of seats. My legs began to
grow numb, and l had to counteract
this by gymnatoict exercises. Yes! II
was rather a queer place for them, as
you say but it would not have done
for me to lose control of my limbs.
Darkness had now come on, and l be-
gan to think. SYously of food.
"At thzfI have named the gas
began ID. 1t filled the balloon,
and DE- overflowed at the OPEN
mouth then l began to descend.
was abe-Sb tell that l was making a
downward move, in spite of my short
ness of material, by holding out silk
handkerchief, which fiuttered upward;
and" added Mr.. Spencer, with the air
of giving me a piece of information
which l could put to a practical test
under similar circumstances at an early
date, this is an even more delicate
method of testing the equilibrium of
balloon than barometer. In an hour
aad half after ascending, was again
approaching the hot Indian atmos.
phere, and through the darkness ]
could perceive large rivers. l could
also hear the rush of water, which ]
thought must be the sea.
Il had somewhat peculiar problem
to solve now, and that was to effect
safe descent without the proper appli.
ances for the purpose and, of course, In
the darkness. l managed it, however.
with very little trouble, alighting on
the misunderstanding lands at
the mouth of the Ganges. l saw lights,
and soon discovered a native village,
but the inhabitants could not under.
stand the spectacle of a white man thus
coming mysteriously out of the dark
ness, and promptly fed. Then return
ed however, accompanied by band OF
villagers carrying arms and lighted
lanterns. In order to demonstrate that
1 was human and not ghostly, l drew
some coins ftom my pocket, the sight
and jingle of which somehow reassured
these primitive folk They brought me
food, and by devious ways / reached
Basahart, where native magistrate
LaG received Calcutta paper telling OF
-ay disappearance. He had me driven
to Baraset, where a special train was
waiting to convey me to Calcutta
There / found great excitement pre-
Tailing. and grand reception was ar
1E5ged when / explained my advent
T-es. Many rajahs and native princes
presented me with articles of jewelry
10 mark their appreciation of what they
tas'raed my daring feat"
AIr Spencer smiled cheerfully at nv
wondering testimony to the fact that
he was still alive. and under futher
pressure proceeded to tell me of d de-
scent per parachute at Kobe in Japan
There was no car-less ascent in this
case, but it came near to having q much
worse ending. The aeronaut was car
Tied out to sea. and instead Of dropping
gracefully down to the ground he was
pumped into the water-au accident
that all balloonists fear. However, he
was equal even to that embarrassing
occasion. Being a good swimmer, he
-i.araged, by contriving to get little
aid from his parachues, to keep himself
aEoat till boat came to the rescue.
He continued his smiling assertion
that ba.looning is enjoyable while
digested the last incident.
THE most nervous person." said he
.has no fear, and the dizzy sensation
that one experiences when up in high