The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-16

, get me drowned I'll have You arrest,
GA balloonist gets used to appalling
danger, but when you are alone things
/ are magnilied so ard your Imagination
takes such wild, nerve racSing jumps.
3" have been drifting along III the
clouds and repeatedly scared To death
almost by those weird halmcinations
so common III the air.
Mountains of Clouds.
Suddenly YOU look over the car and
there below you Is a vast swamp, with
dark. deadly pools and hillocks, a gray,
barren waste. You arc plunging to-
ward il with frightfnl velocity. YOU are
almost IN il, your heart jumps TO your
throat, and then you pass swiftly and
safely through it. 1t is only cloud
effect.
Again a mountain looms up sud
denly right in your facc--a great. tow.
criug mountain, with sharp craes and
spectrelike trees, You have q swift
vision OF balloon rent and wrecked
and yourself dashed against the rocks,
and then silently and softly again You
sal! right through thc mountain and
into the sunlight perhaps, with won
dcrful panorama OF lakes, rivers aud
Sreensward spread out beneath you.
"The sky is a grand spectacular
drama to The balIoonist, Every ascent
affords new and marvellous sights.
They are thrilling when You have a
companion. but fearsomc sometimes
when You are alone.
We were talking in Il balloon fac
tory. 4 very busy place in the spring
OF the year. Women were bUsilv
threading together huge seemcnts Of
gas bags; mon were hnottin9 ropes and
coupling concentrating rings Over
near an elevator WAS complete bal.
loon, all ready for shipment.
Stevens pointed to a new racing car,
capable of holding two passengers.
:, BalIoouIng is greatly changed to-
day" be said. ''Thcrc arc so many
safeguards that The old element OF un-
known danger is practically climi-
mated.
''TaEc that ear. for instance. 1t is
waterproof, il has life -prcScrycr
strapped All around it to keep it afloat
III water. Even tbe seat is Of cork,
aud all the ropes arc Of cocoanut fibre
and Will float, too.
81 could have fIoatc1 in such a car.
had my balloon been equipped with IL
that night when | drifted over Lake
Ere. Better still, with wireless
phone ! could have summoned help.
Ba!loonlng Ucar wafer has hereto
fore been dangerous. You arc not al.
WAYS sure Jnst where You are going.
and even If YOU arc sailing along near
land and within call Of people below,
you rarely receive an intelligent answer
TO your question. Where arc wc?'
Generally they fire some absurd ques.
ton back ut Won, and then when YOU
have passed with the wind YOU can I
make them hear talking back against
il.
81 have used q siren whistle with
some success. 1t waua people Of vour
approach and gets them over their
amazement by the time YOU arrive.
But radio wireless phone connection
with some intelligence station is bet
ter Your batteries and instrument
DONE weigh moro than fifty pounds
and can be used as ballast if urces-
sary. They are sparkless, and there.
fore safe 10 the balooDist.
Then balloons are made more scien-
tifically today. The worst fall / over
had-l was so near death that [ closed
my eyes and accepted it-would not
have happened with a modern balloon.
In this instance the collapse OF the bag
was caused by a sharp cindor which
got caught between the bag and tho
netting. The sec.sawlng OF the two
made ii cut a hole in the bag, and then
the force of the escaping gas made a
great rent from top TO bottom Today
we make the bag of sewed segmcnts.
and such tear would be impossible. |