The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-05-28
HURLED TO EARTH
BY LIGHTNING
Ralloonist Tells How 1t
Felt to Drop About
5000 Feet
RAN INTO A BIG STORM
Ptiant Gas Bag Helpless in
Fierce Struggle With
Nature

MILWAUKEE,. May 27.-Air pi-
,,,s whose defiance OF death while
caring thousands OF feet above the
,sr,h has brought them thrills al
NOS, undreamed OF by persons who
Seen their feet on the ground, are
smong those who will man the giant
ras hays entered in the national
Balloon race which starts here May
"a and ends whenever the pilot no
! LANCER can keep his ship In the air.
one Of these is Captain John
psrry of st. Louis. a pilot whose
many years OF air work include be-
,rs struck by lightning 5000 feet
! T5oye the ground and falling to the
arth without serious injury.
Captain Berry. n of the oldest
a, flying pilots and interested In
,r work since shortly after the civil
rsr modestly tells q~uestioners that
he never had any real thrills in the
INV. but the story of his miraculous
nl is told by G.. Y. Morrison, aide
h the captain in the flight which
uas interrupted by lightning and
xho also miraculously escaped
,srlous injury in the downward
plunge. ,
Flying Through Storm.
The flight was III the national
balloon race held from Portland,
Ore. in 1914. Captain Berry who
was Americas first national cham
MON at balloon flying by virtue OF
winning the first national race, held
nom indianapolis in 1909. took off
with Morrison as his aide June IL,
and reachcod the Cascade noun
aims of Oregon that night. As Nor
fson tells the story:
1.-THE sky above us was beautiful
n clear, but away off to south and
southwest / noticed great banks OF
clouds. l did not figure IN any
thing but drifting peacefully ove
the mountains with the beautiful
willamette and Columbia rivers be-
heath us.
About 7 p. m. we saw the bal
loon Uncle Sam" land a little dis
lance ahead. We promptly dropped
ballast to make sure that we would
surpass its flight. y
THE big gas bag shot up until
we reached an altitude of 10000
feet. Then we hit the storm. The
balloon twisted and rocked like a
living thing. Big black clouds were
all we could see on every side: II
seemed as II we were hurting
through a black space shut off from
the entire world. A cold wind blew
snow and rain on us and there was
nothing at all ~reassuring In u po-
stlon. The crash of thunder sound
ed like the boom of a thousand
lannon's right in our ears.
Dreaded the Lightning.
81 don't know anything about
ballooning,' ! shouted to Captain
Berry, but l know we've got to get
out OF here
"'We've got 10 go down. he
shouted back, but I dare not open
The gas valves or they'll catch fire
from the lightning
Down we went, however. finally
being $500 feet up. Suddenly there
was a terrific blaze and l received
an awful shock. Before / could
y move, the big bag burst, the tor
( being torn off by the lightning and
draping itself over u basket. What
was left checked our descent some
what, but We were hurting a
what seemed 10 be terrific speed
toward the ground.
Throw over everything shout
Cd the captain and over went bal
last. clothes and everything We
could get our hands on. stu W
plunged downward. Around us wa
nothing but clouds and rain Will
no ground visible. Long fingers o
lightning seemed TO reach in ant
wrap themselves around us. SUD
q denly there was n crash as we nj
+. tree. l slid down the trailer rop.
. the ground which never had fel
50 fine. Later l found Berry u