Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-12-13
Misesllaneuus Rsadins.
AIRMEN TO COLUMBIA.
Augustus Post Talks of His Wonderful
Balloon Trip.

AIRMEN TO COLUMBIA.
Augustus Post Talks of His Wonderful
Balloon Trip.
Augustus j. Post, the world famous
aeronaut told humorously and graph
ically in the university chapel Thurs
day morning Of his 1.000-mile air
trip across the Canadian wilds, one
of the longest flights on record, and
his 5000 foot fall through the roof
of house in Berlin. zone of the
shortest flights on record"
Mr.. Post has flown in balloons air.
shirs and aeroplanes about as much
as any living man. He is now In Co.
lumb bia with the Curtiss aviators.
II have been flying for so long"
said Mr. Post. that ii seems a very
natural thing for me to do"
The aeronaut was introduced to his
aud ience by George Armstrong Wau-
chOpe. who declared that Mr.. Post
was zone of the most competent liv-
ing Yauthorities on aeronautics."
Mr.. Post spoke of the aviators who
flew in the meet at Columbia as men
Wild were simply demonstrating the
possibilities of the new art of flying.
The desire to fly Is as old as man. 1t
is of only recent years that the idea
has taken concrete form" Mr.. Post
declared.
A Bag and Pan of Goals.
a bag maker in Paris" said Mr.
Post, was responsible for the inven-
ton Of the Balloon 1873 years ago. No
ticing that smoke always went up
ward, he took a tissue paper bag and
filled it with smoke. 1t did not go
up. | But when he attached a pan of
glowing Goals. at the suggestion of his
wife, to the mouth of the bag. it rose,
much to his astonishment. and fiOated
around the room. The hot air did
the work. This was the first sue
cessful balloon.
The development Of the balloon was
very rapid after the discovery of hy-
drogen gas and its adaptability for in
iation purposes. During the stage
Of Paris in the FrancO-Prussian war,
the only communication with the out
side world that the Parisians had was
by means of balloons.
The South's Last Silk Dress.
During the War Between the
States" said Mr.. Post, the women Of
the Confederacy sacrificed their silk
dresses for the envelope Of balloon
which the government built for mill
tary purposes. The balloon made sew
eral ascensions near Richmond and
was of considerable service. 1t was
finally captured by the northern
troops. When they took the balloon
they got the last silk dress in the
onfederacy.
1.-The perfection of the gas engine"
Mr. Post declared. made the aero
plane possible. 1t is responsible for
the last long stride man has made to-
wards the realization of his desire
to fly"
Telling of his latest aeronautical
exploit, Mr.. Post said:
I'm the international balloon race
for the Gordon Bennett trophy, Allen
r. Hawley and myself represented
America in the racing balloon Amer
lea ii. Mr. Hawley acted as pilot.
I was his aide.
THE start was made at st. Louis
late in the afternoon. In the balloon
besides Mr. Hawley and myself was
ton of sand for ballast, some provis-
ions, instruments and bedding.
when you ascend in balloon, you
have the sensation of standing per-
fectly still while the earth sinks from
under you. You seem always to be
sailing over a great bowl of which the
horizon is the rim.
Aeronauts Sleep Well.
"A balloon trip through the night
is awe inspiring. You go up and up
into the blackness. Earth-sounds
melt gradually into murmurs. The
swaying of the basket is the only mo-
tion you feel. The aeronaut alone
knows the bliss of perfect sleep.
sleep beyond all sound on the bosom
of boundless space. Mr.. Hawley and
myself experienced all these sensa-
tions i'm our trip in the America H.
In the balloon the aeronauts had a
novel cooking apparatus. Their cans
of soup, which was the principal food
they carried were bedded in unslacked
lime. BY pouring little water on the
lime. they had their soup steaming
hot at a moments notice.
"Once our guide rope caught in
barbed wire fence and dragged 1t
across a cOrnfield, moving a clean
swath. We sailed for a whole night
and woke up over Lake Michigan"
Either Up or Down.
Mr.. Post explained that an aero
naut could control only the vertical
motions of his balloon. The hori-
Zontal movement was dependent upon
the direction of the air currents.
After we sailed across Lake Mich
igan and were well into Canada. we
decided to land. \ terrific storm
which was raging down near the sur
face Of the earth prevented US and
we were obliged to ascend again. We
ted with lakes and studded with
mountains. We knew that we must
b" well into the wilds of Canada.
I'VE selected a mountain side for
a landing place and settled down
among the trees. Mr.. Hawley and
myself extended mutual cOngratula-
tionS. He believed that we had won
the race and set a new long distance
record for balloon flight. We did
win the race, but there is still some
about the matter.
Back Through Wids.
Mr. Post gave graphic description
Of this trip back through the wilds To
civilization. Once they gave them
selves up for lost and threw away all
the instruments and unnecessary bag
gage they had been carrying. Finally
they reached the camp of trapper
who took them to the nearest settle
ment in his canoe.
I'VE found that the whole world
was excited over the trip and that
the Canadian government was max
ing every effort to locate us. said
Mr.. Post.
My trip in the balloon America III
was the longest | ever took. but in