Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1921-01-08
Aeronauts Had to Chase Cree
Trapper Before He Consent
ed to Guide Them.
FEARED FOR HIS PELTs.
Third Pigeon Made Ready to Eat When
Sign of Habitation Caused Trio to
Take Landing chance-cloth-
Ing Ripped From Backs.

Cochrane, Ont.-The shrill wall of
moose dog caught in a trap at Ship
sands, near the mouth of the Moose
river, brought to safety the three
American airmen, Lieutenants Hinton,
Farrell and Kloor, who were blown
800 miles in balloon from Rockaway
Beach, N. Y, by gale which swept
across the continent ON the night of
December Is last.
The three officers in the balloon, ig-
norant of where they were, sought
vainly for signs of habitation in the
wilderness about the shores of James
bay. Then their ears caught the wall
Of the dog. Jumping Immediately to
the conclusion that the sound marked
the presence of some dwelling, they
pulled the rip cord of their balloon
and descended at Shipsands, where the
Hudson's Bay Company first establish
ed post In the wild lands about the
bay.
The landing place is upon Ships Is
land, little to the northwest Of the
mouth of the Moose river, which emp
ties into James bay. The balloon de-
scended into q clump of trees ten miles
south of Shipsands before the officers
realized they were in the very thick of
the forest.
Practically they were helpless but
fortunately the mildest weather in the
history of the old post was prevailing,
with the thermometer registering 10
degrees below zero. They extricated
themselves quickly from entangling
ropes that fell about them as the bal
loon struck the trees and then Chamber
ed to the ground.
The three men quickly released the
dog. Such Is the outline of the story
Cleaned from George w. Mcleod, the
veteran Indian mail carrier, who came
down the trail of the Missanabi river
into Mattice with the news that the
three airmen were safe and sound at
Moose Factory post.
From Mcleod it was learned that
Lieutenant Stephen A. Farrell, the
elder officer of the three, had suffered
somewhat from frostbite and shock,
but was recovering quickly at the time
he hit the trail to bring the news to
civilization. The three men lost much
of their clothing when their balloon
struck the trees
To Mcleod, Lieutenant Walter Hin
ton told the story of the struggle the
balloonists had during the first eight
hours Of daylight on the morning Of
December II, when they found them
selves over the bleak northern wilder
ness. At that time the three men
were in the grip of violent gale of
an estimated velocity of 80 miles an
hour.
For eight hours they jockeyed help
lessly in the grip Of this storm, first
casting out ballast and then releasing
gas from the balloon. They were on
the verge Of starvation. Two of the
carrier pigeons which they had carried
for the purpose of releasing with mes
sages had already been plucked and
eaten.
At noon on December ii they had
plucked the third pigeon and were
about to eat 1t when they heard the
bowling of the moose dog and decided
to take chance upon landing. At this
time tney were ureHcHeu W the shih
and covered with icicles.
Immediately after the three men had
expressed their thanks at landing safe
ly upon the ground they held con-
sultation as to the best direction to
take in their attempt to reach some
settlement HiEton was for striking
northward, but Farrell, an officer with
years of experience at sea, urged they
follow the old slogan Of "Follow the
star in the eastern sky" At the sug-
gestion of Lieutenant A. L. Kloor the
three men finally began to trudge in a
generally southerly direction through
the snow incrusted underbrush.
Suddenly, through rift in the for
est, the three men saw smoke from a
chimney 1t was like beacon on