The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-18
Ballooning in a Tempest

EH the welt-knoWn French aerOnaut,
~ has had many and various adven-
lures in his day. What he describes as
the most thrilling Of his experiences
was the so-calleds - Concours ade Tenn
perez which, took place on Aug. 20,
1900, when he started in the Horizon,
inflated with $500 cubic yards of gas,
with number Of other balloons, in the
| midst of a tremendous storm. !
~"The experiment. he afterward
said, "was exceedingly dangerous, and
everybody urged that the balloons had
better wait till the storm was over. But
| as Commandant Renards, who repre-
sented the committee of the Paris Elk.
hibition, was absent, and was replaced
by M. Louis GODDARD, the latter refused
to admit of any delay and said that he
would not take upon himselif the re-
sponsibility Of calling off the competi-
ton. I started with NM Oudet and
LEIPZIG, whom I had valnly tried to per-
suade to remain upon the ground, about
Z O'Clock in the evening. Several Of
the balloons that had started before me
were dashed against the trees, and the
vast crowd assembled feared a catas-
trophe at every moment. The Horizon
set off, happily without striking any OBJ
stacle, and we were borne westward by
a furious gale. The night was. dark.
Our pace was from fifty to sixty, miles
an hour, and at $3.50 we were already II
, sight Of the lighthouse Of La Heve.
"We. expected to be dashed out tc
, sea when suddenly strange caprice-e1
the wind carried us south, and for Z
j while we hoped to keep away from the
7 coast. But soon after we. again saw
: lights at Avranches and the heavy surge
/ along the coast, and the sound Of thu
waves roaring and dashing against tn,
rocks reached our ears. My compan
ions grew pale, and I must say mysel
gave up everything for lost, for to LAM
|. among these rocks meant certain dealt
= for us all, and out to sea we could onl,
expect short shrift in such a howlin.
! ! tempest. I felt only one satisfaction
= that I had unwillingly undertaken sue
! a foolhardy exploit, the only one il
: which I ever incurred serious danger
. and that another was responsible. L
another instant we were over the seq
, with immense pillows rolling below
r. Ny companions remained silent, and "
i all expected the worst. But happil
!. luck again favored US.
Il LII GuS ulStdACO wv HCASS1N SA
+ houses and the dark outlines of tn
J. coast, toward which we seemed to be r
1S| turning. It was o'clock. The ba
loon sped along rapidly, and when
thought we were again over dry land
: let a bottle fall / heard it with relic
+ strike the ground distinctly, and [ kne
?, we were saved. I pulled at once for a
II I was worth ON the escape valve, and
le another moment our anchor struck Il
r ground. But the race that ensued W;
y terrific. We were pelted and hustle
IN about in our basket oversa distance of
'e mile, in the darkness striking again
It branches of trees, and. each Of us hol
u ing on to the car for dear life. At la
u the anchor caught firmly in a tree, al
as the balloon itself was dashed into
er grove where the silk was torn, and II
ne car landed beside hedge. We had, j
Us Us deed, narrow escape, and / should n
~ like to repeat the attempt. '--Lond'
y Globe.