The review. [volume] (High Point, N.C.) 1908-19??, 1921-01-20
NAVAL AIRMAN
TELLS OF TRIP
Thrilling Story of the Adventure
of the BaIIoonists Who Were
Lost in WiIds of Canada.
DEATH NEAR WHEN RESCUED
Lost to the World 20 Days in ALL
Wandered Four Days in the Woods
With Nothing to Feat Except the
Pigeons They Had With Them

Mattice, Ont.-After being lost to
the world for 20 days, four Of which
were spent wandering in the woods,
the three navy balIoonists, Lieuts.
Farrell, Hinton and KloOr, arrived
here. Lieut.. Farrell told the following
story of their adventures:
Lieut.. Farrells story of the fight
and wanderings of the trio begins with
the morning hours in Rockaway naval
air station on December 10 and goes
on through the flight, the landing, and
up to the meeting with the Indian at
Moose Factory who saved their lives.
"It was just an ordinary balloon
hop" Farrell began. 1T was for train
ing. Hinton told me after we left
that the gas in the balloon was ten
days old, stale and impure.
Hinton called me up at about TWEEN
ty minutes to II December 13) and
told me I could come on flight if !
wanted to. No special orders are
needed. We just got permission from
Commander Cummings of the post
and Executive Officer Douglas.
II am senior officer Of the three,
but Kloor was in command of the
flight, as he is a balloon officer and ]
am gunnery officer. / have been in
aviation for three years and have
flown in every kind of aircraft. We
left at p. m.
Left With Four Pigeons.
eve had four pigeons; we let the
F1,a ~
Brooklyn navy yard.
Clinton and Kloor had heavy I'M
derwear and uniforms under their fly
ing suits. I had only the underwear
and the flying suit. I had a grip. with
my uniform and some other things in
it. We had eight sandwiches and two
thermos bottles of hot coffee. None
of the underwear was electrically
heated.
1--WE expected to land next morn
ing in upper New York state. We had
no maps Or charts except a railroad
map of the Canadian Quebec Central
line, which / bought. We had three
to land before we did. We did
stop once at Wells, N. Y.
1--WE made fast to tree near a
light. It was in a window of farm
house. A man came along and we
asked him where we were. He told
US, but he could not say what big town
we were near.
kIoor Game to Go On.
eve cast loose and went up again.
It rained and blew during the night.
We could have landed at Ottawa at
IL p. m. We saw the lights of a big
city. But Kloor is just kid and he
was enthusiastic about a long flight.
We all agreed that we ought to do a
decent flight. There had been rain
from Wells on.
"The wind was north by west. That
night it blew hard and rained. There
was no sign of civilization. But we
thought it would be all right in the
At daylight we saw only for
ests. The rain had Gained down.
There were low clouds and fog.
1.-THE rain stopped at a. m. (De-
,ember 14). We ate all our food dur
ng the night. We had two packages
If cigarettes and one box Of matches,
>ut you cannot smoke in a hydrogen
We realized we were in bad
hat morning"
Explains Flying Technique.
Here Farrell paused to give a brief |
of the technique of bal
Don flying.
"You have a lot Of expendable bal
asst" he said. 1--WE had twenty-one
'andbags weighing thirty pounds |
apiece. At first the balloon rises with !
Ill the cargo. Then it begins coming
fown as the gas deteriOrates. When |
Tou are down too low you throw out
'andbag and that sends you up again. |
when all the ballast is gone you |
20 up for the last time and have to |
eme down as soon as the gas begins |
o weaken.
"Our twenty-first bag went over that |
morning. After that we had to throw |
ut equipment to keep up. We hauled |
n the drag rope which is used in |
making landings and cut it into sew
raj pieces. We used each piece as |
'allast. 1t was not very long before |
he last piece went over the side.
AT IL a. m. the sun came out and |
eated up the gas in the balloon;
hat makes the gas expand and sends
he balloon up.
eve were fighting to keep in the
If. All we saw was trees, lakes, and
now. 1t was about 1870 p. m. that
re saw shack in the woods. At /
east we thought it was shack. We