Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-16
AVIATOR MAKES
HARD FIGHT TO
ESCAPE WAVES
is HANDICAPPED BY POOR GAS
AND LACK OF SAND
MUELLER's BALLOON FIRST TO
BEGIN LONG FLIGHT
Wild VIII Start Today, but No Hops
is Expressed of Sighting Opponent
Unless America Has to
Make Landing

GAPT. A. E. MUELLER and his
companion, Joseph Hutchinson,
~ after a thrilling fight against
falling into the sea last night, started
the American eastward, and at IL
o'clock Mueller shouted down that he
intended to make Texas or New
Mexico.
Capt. Wild and Assistant Pilot Le-
royxez were not allowed to start the
United states yesterday, owing to the
certainty that they would be carried
westward, but will begin their voyage
at 1890 o'clock this afternoon.
Capt. Mueller's handling of the
American after it had started toward
the Pacific yesterday is considered as
fine an exhibition of ballooning as has
been accomplished in the last decade.
Handicapped by starting away with
but one-sixth the sand he should have
had because of a lack of lifting power
in the gas, he was compelled at the
outset to sacrifice sand to save himself
and Hutchinson from being carried
into the water two miles from the
shore.
In spite of the fact that a heavy fog
dampened the balloon and brought it
down and threatened to allow the
aeronauts to lose their bearings, thus
Qf1IIlQg SIlll 1dTtneI west, 0dpt. hQtl-
Ter fought his way back and at IL
o'clock was headed southeast in front
of a stiff, steady wind.
Capt. Mueller gave the word to cast
off the surplus sacks of sand at 3:15
O'Clock, and two minutes later the ball
loon rose slowly, going straight upward
for 500 feet, when ii began to travel
southwark. AS it went up the crowds
inside and outside the grounds cheered
enthusiastically and waved their hats
and handkerchiefs. Capt. Mueller was
calm and full of business, throwing out
sheets of advertising matter in accord
ance with Instructions.
| Joseph Hutchinson, the newspaper
correspondent who accompanied Muei-
Ter, had declared before the basket was
ready that he would shut his eyes and
keep his face turned upward. 1t was
| his first experience in air travel. In
stead, as the balloon lifted free from
| the park he found himself leaning out
| of the basket and waving his cap in
response to the shouts of the spec
4 tators.
Capt Mueller held to his calm and
stoical demeanor, although he found it
difficult to find any detail which
worked out perfectly. He found him
| self without a pilot rope. When one
twas finally secured a test showed the
gas in the balloon would lift less than
third of the ballast desired, and he
was compelled to start with but thir-
teen sacks. Two of these were thrown
out to gain in altitude, leaving him
practically but eleven to start the
Journey as compared with seventy-five
which he had hoped to hang to his
basket.
"Only those familiar with aeronau-
tics can realize what this means" said
member of the Aero club, but Cap
tain Mueller is certainly game, Sand
is like gold on long balloon voyage,
and the longer the trip is protracted
the more valuable the unused sand is
Mueller must have realized that his
chances of coming down IN some dan
gerous landing is just so much the
greater with the lessened quantity of
sand, but you would never guess 1t
from his countenance. l noticed, how
ever, when he gripped my hand and
said goodbye he was terribly in earn
est as though he felt this trip pre-
sented as many dangers as any of the
many he has taken"
Throws Out More Ballast
AS the balloon went southwark Muel-
ller threw out more ballast, and before
ii reached Slauson avenue he had his
trail rope down. 1t began to go faster
as it touched higher current, and be-
fore long 1t was heading toward San
Pedro.
out past San Pedro and five miles
/ to sea the American went. Capt.
| Mueller decided to take a dangerous
hazard and rose through and above
| the fog, but the maneuVer brought him
| into a current which bore him land
ward again. The balloon came back
| over San Pedro and northeast over
| Venice, again going two miles west
| Again Capt. Mueller "jockeyed'' for
an eastward wind. He secured it and
went east to a point near the Cen
tinela road north of it's junction with
| the Santa Monica and Compton road.
| Again the balloon was swept to sea
and its two passengers had thrilling
| experience. The fog had weighted the
/ envelope and contracted the gas until
| the balloon came dangerously near to
| the water. The trail rope, ESQ feet
| long, dragged in the ocean. and Muel-
| Ter was compelled, most reluctantly,
to sacrifice some of his sand.
| AS the American went upward its
course was once more toward the land
! and both passengers felt relieved
again. They had lost their bearings.
| but shouted down as they found them
! selves over the lights of a beach town.
"Redondo," came the answer, and
Hutchinson noted the balloon had al
most taken a course like huge letter
| s. II was then travelling northeast,
rather slowly, and the night air and
dampness of the cloth brought It down.
This was about o'clock. At Ingle-
wood the American" turned more
sharply eastward and reached Los An
geles exactly at the southeast corner
of the city limits 1t had sunk toward
the earth until it was only about 230
feet high At Slauson and Western
avenues the trail rope struck tele-
graph pole and was fouled on the
crossarm. Mueller tugged at the rope
and Hutchinson shouted for assistance
"Balloonl Balloonl" both cried for
twenty minutes, when John Joslin,
asleep in a house on the corner, came
out to quell the riotous persons who
would not let him sleep. When he de-
tected the marooned aeronauts his an
ger turned to sympathy, and he fol-
lowed Mueller's directions to telephone
Ferris at the Burbank theater.
Ferris and Frederic Pabst hurried
out in an automobile. AS they We're
going south on Vermont avenue Pabst
| saw the balloon over a star, and as the
| fContinned On Page Sevenl