New-York tribune., 1910-10-24
lERONAUTS' OWN STORY
Samuel T. Perkins Tells Of the
Dusseldorf Thrilling Trip.
eBv Samuel II. Perkins, aid 10 Hans Gcrscke
uiIot of the balloon Dusseldorf III.

TBy Telegraph to The Tribune.l
RfsEdsink Que, Oct B-After forty
Hsou-s in the air, during which / saw some
a,f the most wonderful sights of my life, and
being pTecipitsted from a height Of four
rrniles in nine minutes into an almost i'm
r.enetrahle forest in the Canadian wilds,
-1vere two Of the varied experiences had in
any recent balloon trio from st. Louis.
The first night out from St. Louis was a
xeeaut1ful one. and we sailed along at
ss,eght ~ only six hundred feet talked
90 the farmers whose houses we passed
,over. finding out exactly where we were
.and exchanging greetings with them. The
early morning sun took US 10 an elevation
sof ten thousand feet. at which height we
azlassed over the city Of Milwaukee. The
rhurch bells rang and the guns were shot
off so we started over Lake Michigan with
q fine send-off.
When we landed we had fifteen bags OF
ballast and could easily have stayed up
ihirty-six hours longer. only that we had
gone 10 the end of all railroads and could
never have got back 10 civilization. We
were pushed across from ATanitolin Island
- Lake Kiskisink In the face of q terrific
storm. consequently the landing was very
rough and we were lucky 20 get down with
no broken bones.
Landed with Force.
We saw Lake Kiskisink some five miles
nhead and decided 10 land. but the valve
would not act and were some $4,000
feat high 10 get a favorable wind, we de-
Cided not 20 come down till we'll beyond
the lake But when we did come down we
came in nine minutes. landing some seven
teen miles beyond the city with terrific
isorce. II It had not been for trees and
7nnderbrusb we surely would have been
killed.
Our speed was so great that 1 thought
we were only a few miles beyond the lake
and could reach II in four or five hours
walk. So we leisurely rolled up the balloon
ssnd started for the lake al 3 .. m. But by
8 O'Clock we had made only half mile
fthrough the dense underbrush. where we
stlept out in the open that night The next
s-5ay va went back 10 the balloon for all
.eXtra provisions. etc. as we now knew
We had a great load on our hands TO get
out alive We left the balloon the second
.Si-ne Thursday afternoon and travelled
FAST as we could TN Saturday noon, when
We were discovered accidentally ny Theo-
sphyle Bolvin. guardian of the Penn Fish
tend Game Club. on their grounds.
He was making his regular every other
weekly trip UP the Kiskisink River when
ne saw our flag on the top OF the hin upon
which We landed. lie fred q shot from a
sxun. We answered from some two miles
Raway, which was all the distance we had
made during Thursday, Friday and Sat
-sur6ay.
The trip as a whole was marked by
-s1any wonderful and exciting experiences
The sail across the country for the last
six hundred miles before landing, knowing
rfhat any drop was sure starvation. and Cur
ballast was getting low, gave me feeling
aof anxiety. This was further emphasized
ny the fact that the last human voices we
had heard were late on Tuesday night
somewhere over ManitoulIn Island. and
that We had been going for hours and
hours and had not the slightest idea where
We were.
SufFered from Cold.
But knew we were going northeast. ard
that some tins we must pass the new
trsnsoontinental point. Al i A. m. we saw
it. but st the same time We saw Lake
kiskisink forty miles beyond. and decided
20 wait as every little BIT helps.
u Is very fortunate that the Canadian
government keeps guardians in this terri
tory. and IL Is TO that we owe our lives, as.
while We might have gotten out il time in
fair weather with provisions. in had
weather. with no food, the case would have
been hopeless.
u has been very cold here. and the sleep
ang outside, with no tents, has been very
hard. This weakening us very fast
Besides. il showed and rained at intervals.
il was especially hard on US as We were
not prepared for any such trip. OF all the
experiences man could have, this IS Ger
tainl. the limit and il is a great question
= he sp
is certainly the most wonderful Of all SEN
fatons end eNperiences have ever had