Evening star., 1901-06-29
A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE,
Aer0nauts in the Heart of a Thunde1
Storm Escape Unhurt

From the New Orleans Times Democrat
TO be In the very heart of thunder
cloud and escape unharmed is an unusual,
II not unique. experience. That Is what
happened to the Rev. John NJ. Bacon and
some companions In one of his balloon as
tensions from Newbury, England
Mr. Bacon, in telling of his experience,
says: In scarcely more than twenty min
uteS from the start a sudden and surDris-
Ing change took place in our circumstances
Our environment. which had appeared alb
solutely calm and clear began changing
with the rapidfty of a transformation scene
Below us the few hundred feet which sep
arated us from earth began filling In with
blue haze quite transparent but growing
palpably flmier, while ahead as also right
and left, the horizon at the level of our
eye and higher opposed a dense fog barrier
OF an ashen hue. Overhead of course. the
SKY view was entirely hidden by the huge
silken globe. At this time we were being
swept along on our course. which remained
senSlbiy unaltered in direction at speed
Which We subsequently were able to fix at
approximately forty miles an hour
TO ourselves the full significance of these
circumstances was not Immediately appar-
ent, but the onlookers at our point Of de-
parture-the town gas works now some five
miles In our wake-clearly detected the
approach of a heavy thunder pack and as
they reasonably asserted coming against
the wind 1t lowered above the balloon
now seen projected plainly against It's face.
1t came on rapidly and assumed formidable
proportions. The balloon was flying due
west at high speed. and at apparently no
great distance overhead the thunder cloud
was progressing at moderate velocity not
accurately determined, but due east or di-
rectly opposed to the surface current
And now with a whistle binding sheet
or hail attacked the aeronauts, stinging
their faces SO sharply as to give the idea
that the stones were falling from a great
helgnt, and Immediately afterward from
all sides and close around flashes of light
ming shot out with remarkable frequency
and vividness. We We're in fact fairly em-
bosomed in the thunder cloud. Other and
near observers narrowly watched the
phases OF phenomena now in progress.
These were the countrymen who became
interested spectators, and who presently
came to our assistance. They seemed to
have imagined that the balloon must be in
faliibly struck, inasmuch as it appeared to
them completely encircled with lightning
1t was, indeed, the worst storm the coun-
try-side had known for many years. At
Devices. only a few miles ahead it lasted
for hve hours continuously. A little way
on our right house was struck and
burned to the ground and on our left a
couple of soldiers were killed on Salisbury
plain.
Though the storm progressed, It also
appeared to lag behind the wind that bore
1t along. 1t did not seem to advance
against US as a whole, but rather about us.
forming itself out of what few moments
before had appeared mere empty and trans
parent air.
The lightning as seen by the people in
the balloon seemed to leap from cloud to
cloud, and not from the clouds to the
earth. and the noise of the thunder con-
sisted Of short, sharp reports like the ex-
plOsions of guncotton without any of the
rolling reverberations heard on the earth.
The aeronauts passed through the thunder
storm uninjured, but 1t was trying to the
nerves. The question is. With the light
ming playing all around it, and houses and
men being struck on the earth below why
was not the balloon demolished by a thun-
derbOltT"