The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-07-07
CAPTURED BY sAvAGEs.

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 With South African Natives.
 1T have had many singular experi- ences in ballooning during the quarter of a century I have been in the busi- ness," said T. s. Baldwin, the famous airship man, in the St. Louis Globe Democrat, 'but undoubtedly the most remarkable of all was that I had in South Africa about twelve years ago On this occasion I made an ascent from the center oe a civilized community with wealth, refinement and modern progress evidenced on every side, and tribe of savages in the heart of will derness comparatively remote from all signs Of white mankind.
 Immediately following my second successful European tour, on which l made ascensions in every large city on the continent, was engaged by firm of enterprising promoters for a series of balloon ascensions and parachute jumps in South Africa, which at that time was booming along on the crest of a wave of unprecedented prosperity and the financial returns from such an amusement venture as mine promised to be large. My first stop was at Cape Town, the next at Durban and the third Johannesburg. In the first two towns my ascensions and parachute jumps passed on without anything ex- hro1 I1Nt from fr1bn beginning of my attempts Johannes burg was a veritable Jonah to me- On the day of my first advertised per- formance my balloon was so badly in jured, either by accident or design, never could learn which, a few hours before the time set for the ascension that I was obliged to defer it until the next day in order to give the time for repairs The second day I did not think it was wise to go up in the bal loon owing to unfavorable weather con- ditions, and the second failure caused so much sarcastic public comment as to the possibility of my ever going up that I came out with an announcement the following morning that an ascen- sion would be made at three o'clock in the afternoon of that day under any circumstances. It is never an entirely wise thing to do, making such an an- nouncement as that, but my profess sional pride was aroused, and I deter mined to go up even though the possi- bilfty of being dashed to the ground by high winds was clearly apparent.
 "A heavy rain prevailed during the morning, but about one o'clock this ceased, though the atmospheric condi- tions seemed to pressage another storm. As the time drew near for the ascension the outlook was most dis couraging for a successful trip, but had meant every word of my an nouncenent, and was resolved to go up. At three o'clock a heavy storm was un- doubtedly imminent, but as the hands of the clock pointed to tine hour swung into the basket, and before an immense throng the ropes were cut and I shot up into the air. I went up like a rocket for about eight hundred feet, where the balloon was caught in a strong upper current and began to sail northward at rate of probably twen- ty miles an hour. To make the descent in about ten or fifteen minutes had been my intention, but before was fully aware of it the swift darkness of South African storm had spread over the earth, and in the grasp of breeze bowling along about fifty miles an hour I was borne, whither I know not, and in the absolute darkness which pre- vailed unable to attempt a landing. I could not tell what was underneath me, forest or plain, and it was better to rids the storm than take the chances of being dashed to death in a thick for est. ... ..a : tz ..sg- 7 .,., s.,..,...-.