The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-03-23

seventy hours have passed since the
balloon America" with six men In
the basket, sailed Into thee fog and
clouds OF the Sierra Madre mountains,
and no word has come back as to their
fate Three long nights and two days
have gone by, most OF the time mark
ed with fierce storms OF snow and ice,
and not a single trace OF the men has
been discovered Hope that they may
have reached safe landing and sue
ceeded In gaining shelter from the ele-
ments, Is fast merging into the con-
yiction that they have met their fate
in one of the worst Of mountain trag-
edies. Friends and relatives OF the
unfortunate men have almost abandon
ed hope that they will be brought back
in safety.
Nothing has been heard of the two
searching parties sent out by the
Elks' lodge yesterday. and which
struck into the mountains above Pasa-
dena- Two more parties went out this
morning, one Of twenty men from
Pasadena, headed by experienced
mountaineers, and second one OF
thirteen, from Sierra Madre. the sec
ond led by Chief Forest Ranger George
Crow, Of the latter place. Both par
ties proceeded on foot, and were
| equipped with axes to cut their way
across the mountains where no trails
exist Crow is the man who saw a
F.! falling light flashing internationally as
1t fell in the deep canyon almost due
north of Sierra Madre, about o'clock
+, Saturday night.
This may have been the small pock-
ct electric light carried by Captain
Mueller and which 1t was his custom
TO use in descending at night in an un-
known locality Ranger Crow, who
called his wife to witness the strange
= light. said that 1t descended with great
.>rapidity and that If 1t marked the
I downward course OF the balloon, the
landing must have meant death or Sc
rious injury to those in the basket
Other clues have been reported, but
upon investigation, have proved
| groundless.
The party headed by Roy Knaben-
shue, the aeronnut, which left Alpine
Tavern on Mount Lowe at 3: 30 yester-
day afternoon, had not returned this
morning. and no word had come from
them They are doubtless still push
Ing their way across the precipitous
J mountain sides. Snow lies every
where in the region TO great deptn
estimated from four to five feet on
the level Snowslides have been oc-
curing since the storm stopped, ana
the canons, in many places, are nileu
! to a depth Of forty feet
Roads and trails arc everywhere I'M
passable 1t will be days before they
can be broken through with pack
trains of burros, and communication
established with the remote regions OF
the mountains. There are many
/ square miles Of wild mountain terri
tory within a radius OF fifty miles OF
Pasadena, where there are no human
habitations and where travel on foot
is impossible. II the balloon landed in
such territory, the escape OF the men
to some shelter or point OF communities
tIon with the outside world would be
next to impossible.
Tho weather moderated yesterday
in the mountains, and Is cold and gen
orally clear today.
Telephone calls by the Associated
Press TO the houses on the SUBMITS OF
Mount Wilson and Mount Lowe ana
various mines and camps In the range
F, early today brought no other intelli-
gence than that close watch was be-
ing kept in all directions by men WIN
telescopes, but so far, nothing that
would lead to clue as TO the where'
abouts Of the party had been learned,
to show that the men had succeeded
in reaching a safe landing Saturday
afternoon or early in the evening, and
/ for two or three days. with their linn
! tied supply OF food, they are not ex-
pectcd to be safe They have suffered
moro or less from the cold. for all put
| Can't Mueller are scantily clad and
are poorly prepared to Withstand
severe cold
| In other parts Of the mountains. the
slopes and summit are covered with
giant pines where, II a landing were
affected, fires could be built and some
degree OF comfort provided.
IL Is not thought In any degree now
that the balloon succeeded In scaling
the heights of the three successive
ranges 1t is practically certainty
that today. they are In the mountains
either living or dead.
telephone message from camp
Switzer. far up in the mountains,
| where one Of the Pasadena searching
parties started out, from Yesterday
brought word that the searching party
had returned ut 10 o'clock today with
no news of the balloon. The searchers
were preparing TO start out at once IN
the other direction.
Preparations were begun at noon TO
initiate the other big Ferris racing oal
loon United States" at Tournament
park, Pasadena, with the intention oil
towing 1t up TO the incline railway 10
the summit of Mount Lowe where IL Is
to be used for observation purposes