The San Francisco call., 1910-09-19
Three Balloons Pass Above
Pittsburg Headed Northeast;
Have Covered 400 Miles
Storms Bring Two of the Big
Gas Bags Down in Key
stone State
Aeronauts Rise to Great Height
TO Escape Troublesome Cur
rents: Night Wind Light

DITTsBURG Sept 1S.-At least
OF the 13 balloons that ascended
from Indianapolis between and
s o'clock yesterday afternoon passed
over the environs Of Pittsburg late
this afternoon and at dusk tonight
were reported still pursuing course
east by north at a rate Of from 10 TO
p miles an hour. In the "a hours since
the ascension the aeronauts have cow
cred about 400 miles. The only land
ing reported was from Washington, Pa,
this evening. The Topeka had come
down at 5 O'Clock this afternoon seven
miles south Of washington on account
OF a shower Pilot R. s Cole and his
aid. F. NJ. Jacobs Of Topeka, Kan. re-
ported that most Of the night they had
Travelled so close to the others Of the
, big aeronauticaI party that they could
talk from basket to basket. The To-
peka was entered in the free for all
event
Eastern Ohio. western Virginia and
Pennsylvania were balloon hunting to-
day.
Z Three Are Sighted
All afternoon local newspaper Offices
were advised from outlying districts
that three balloons. sailing high and
separated by about 10 minute intervals.
had been sighted. The first report here
came from Washington. Pa. Two bal
looms had been sighted there at
o'clock and the third had passed az
so p. m. They were all more than
1000 feet high.
At esnncnsbl.-g, Just northeast OF
washington. the balloons were sighted
by hundreds Of people, and one man got
50 excited he turned in a fire alarm.
over the junction Of the Honongahela
and Youghiogeny rivers the aeronauts
evidently encountered troubles with the
lower air currents and avoided them by
mounting TO height Of nearly a
mile At this altitude they sailed up
the Monongahela valley, over the fire
and smoke Of numerous steel mills.
Seen Over Suburbs
Between , and 3 O'Clock the balloons
4were sighted from the southern suburbs
beth. Csrrick and Mount oliver. At
the extreme height is was impossible
10 identity the balloons and as dusk
closed in they were reported barely
visible as they proceeded northeast
along the course of the Allegheny
river
During the afternoon showers threat
some rain fell here. but at that hour
no report had been received of any Of
these three balloons landing. The
wind held steady at about y miles an
hour as it had all day. The local
weather bureau reported that during
last night the aeronauts could not have
had a wind much better than 4 miles,
but at daybreak it was almost brisk
Note Dropped
During the evening this note. which
was dropped from the Million Popula-
ton club balloon Of St Louis. was
brought into a local newspaper office.
The note read:
we are now at the $500 foot level,
travelling northeast. with IA sandbags
left. Don't think we viii be able to
stay up all night.
LOUIS Won Publ. Pilot.
JOSEPH O'REILLY, Aid"
Smother Lands
WHEELING. " Va, Sept 1s.-Four
OF the balloons that started from In
dianspolis Saturday crossed the Ohio
river over or near this city today, and
fifth landed at Uniontown, ". Va.
Three Of the balloons were seen north
OF the city, one flying so low that its
number 6, was plainly discernible.
The balloon which landed at Union
town was the Drifter. with Albert Holz
pilot and George R. Howard passenger.
The aeronauts said that they encoun-
tered three storms while flying at an
altitude OF about 1900 feet and crossed
ri