The evening times., 1898-10-10
SHOTS Above THE CLOUDS
Story of the Balloon Ascension
Over the Spanish Lines.
HAIL OF MAUSER BULLETS
Missiles From the Enemy's Rifles
pelted Against the Great Gas Bas
and the Signal 0mcer and the
Aeronauf Were w0unded-Nerye-
Trying Ordeal.

Is the name of the telegraph operator
who made the ascent above Santiago
in the American war balloon. His mar
rative follows:
Il am the only telegraph operator
who went up in the war balloon at El
Caney and Santiago, and this is the
first story of the ascension. The bal
loon was shot full of holes, so that IL
looked like a sieve when it dropped. l
received a glancing shot over the eye,
leaving a scar that / will carry for
life
The balloon service proved practical
ly a failure, but the experience was fill
ed with thrilling incidents, which ! am
not likely TO forget. ] don't want any
more of it.
''The balloon was one OF four, and
was the only one used. 1t was under
charge Of the signal corps. i made four
ascensions. Lieut.. McNoron was in
command. Bud McKalb was the aero
naut and ] was the teiegrapher. j en-
listed on May q in the Seventh Com
pany, United States Volunteer Signal
corps, and went to Cuba in June. l was
told that ] was in this balloon detach-
ment / did not relish the job, but L
was out there to obey orders, and that
was all there was to it.
'@The gas was manufactured for us at
Tampa, and sent over to US in tubes,
SO that there was no trouble in getting
10 work for our first ascension, on June
%.
The balloon was laid out over the
rough, hilly ground, and in forty min
utes il was filled with gas. The Span
iards began to fire at it the first crack
of the box. before il was five feet off
the ground But their shots were few
and scattered, and at H. o clock the bal
loon was ready for the first trip. II was
a wet morning. Rain was falling heavily
and the balloon sagged until II swung
TO a height of 500 feet.
The first trip was really without eX-
citing incidents. A few pickets fired at
the balloon but did no damage TO speak
of We would see the Spaniards in their
intrenchments, our own men in camp,
and our ships at sea. The telegraph line
extended to Camp Greely and worked
perfectly.
All the messages We're sent in cipher
We sent the location Of the enemy 5
lines as we could see them, but had no
trouble. The second trip on July ! was
quite like the first We heard a few
scattered shots took similar observa-
tions. and put in about two and half
hours on the work.
The third and last trip was at Santi-
ago on the morning of July 3, and | am
telling you ii was "A trip TO make a
mans hairs turn white. The fighting
lines had been getting closer for three
days, and ] knew that were in for
a hot time The lieutenant knew il, too,
and I remarked 20 Bud that ii would be
n lucky morning for us if we all got
back alive.
at took forty minutes TO pump the
bag fun Of gas. and at II o'clock We
were ready for this days work. There
was a~ nasty rain on; IL rains there all
the time. I can feel IT raining nov. We
wrapped rubber ponchos around our
selves adjusted the telegraph machine,
and got into the basket, which was
about five feet deep and four feet
across There was just room for three
men and the instruments.
Twenty or thirty of the boys who as
sisted in the rigging of the balloon
gave uS the good-by, and the bal
loon swung slowly upward / heard diff
ferent shouts. one old chum yelled:
Delaney, try and land on your feet,
and another yells, 1t is a long jump
from up there, old man..
i said 10 myself there was no use
OF thinking about it; If ] was in to get
shot that was all there was to il. There
goes for ] only carried revolver. Ne
had all the worst of ii il IL came 10 a
fight. for the balloon was an easy
mark
The balloon rose up about as fast as
a cable car runs, and for the first
twenty or thirty feet in the rain we did
not hear a shot The bag was drifting
well over the water, when we heard
the first ping, ping of the Mauser bull
lets across the side of the basket and
against the bag When these bullets
came singly it sounded like they were
striking against "A stone wall.
"a few holes in the balloon did no dam
age. and we kept on rising. though ii wa:
a sure thing that we were in for tro-ble
We knew that the Spanish firing line
was within I.5OO feet and that they had
the range on us.
THE lieutenant leaned over the baske
with his glass to his eyes. writing a mes
sage now and then. All the messages
were I'm cipher. For instance, ] remember
one which he wrote on a leaf Of his note
book and which read:
"'Adrift. abaft, abhor. adherence.
M MORN
"NoH this might mean that the enemy
had so many field guns and the intrench-
ments We're so many, or it might mear
something else. l was not supposed tc
know anything about that l tackled
down perhaps a couple of bulletins a min
ute. Between messages L looked over the
basket and saw a feb strange sights as
the balloon was swinging upward. foI
see The Spaniards suddenly stopped fir
ing on US.
"a thousand feet below ] saw Span
ish sharpshooter drop out of tree once
in a while, and / could tell by the way
that ne dropped That his fall was no acci
dent He was knocked out, that was
sure thing. Then ] could see the Span
iards crawl through the tall grass to theii
intrenchments.
1.-The aeronaut, Bud was quietly
sailing the balloon moving lever ROW
and then to change the rise or fall, and
he and I were carrying on quiet reel
tai. / looked over the basket and re-
marked:
Bud, there drops another Dago from
a tree and Bud answered: Say
that fall was easy TO the one we vii
get
We'll. the balloon was probably TO it,
fun height-590 feet-and i was push
ing away on the ticker when trouble be
gan. 1t seemed as If the Spaniards HAD
turned all their guns upon us. TIT
noise of those Mausers against the bai
was like forty hod-carriers falling down
ladders with their hods.
THE aeronaut crouched down in tn
basket hanging on 10 his lever Will,
Lieut.. McNorn stood at his place glas
in hand. and kept on writing dispatches
The bullets were flying like hailstone!
by the basket and into the bag. an.
striking Ii in a storm.
Nobody was ratdled. We kept right O,
playing ball. / expected that the bi;
bag would be riDDed in a thouSan,