Year: 1875

| @Ns~~~
miles high. At 6 :32 thermometer twenty
three. We were now about stationary,
and thought we were sailing north of
east. We could, we thought, distin-
guish water below us, but were unable
to recognize it. At 6:38 we threw over
bag of sand, making eighty pounds of
ballast discharged, and leaving about 120
pounds on hand. We distinctly heard a
dog bark. Thermometer twenty eight,
and rising rapidly. At 6:45 the ther-
mometer stood at thirty-three.


"At $3.50 it was dark, and I could
make no more memoranda. I put up
my notebook, pencil, and watch, and
settled down into the basket, feeling
quite contented. From this point until
next morning l give my experiences from
memory only. The figures given were
made at the time indicated, and the ther-
mometric variations can be depended
upon as quite accurate.


"We heard, soon after dark, loco
motive whistle, and occasionally could
hear wagons rumbling over the ground
or bridge, while the farmers dogs kept
up continued baying, as if conscious
.hcro was something monstrous and un-
usual in the sky. We sailed along, con-
tented and chatty, until about half-past
8 o'clock, when we distinctly saw lights
below us, and heard the roaring of a
mighty waterfall. We descended into a
valley near very high mountain, but as
the place appeared forbidding we con-
cluded to go up again. Over with thirty
pounds of ballast, and skyward we sailed.
In about twenty minutes we again de-
scended, but this time no friendly lights
nor deep-mouthed watch-dogs' heavy
bay" greeted us. We seemed to be over
a dense wilderness, and the balloon was
settling down just into small lake. We
had our ife-preservers ready for uee, but
got up again by throwing out all our
ballast, except, perhaps, twenty pounds.
La Mountain now declared it was folly
to stay up any longer, that we were over
great wilderness, and the sooner we
descended the better. We concluded to
settle down by the side of some tall tree,
tie up, and wait until morning. In a
moment we were near the earth, and as
we gently descended / grasped the ex-
treme top of high spruce, which stopped
the balloons momentum, and we were
soon lashed to the tree by our large drag
rope.


"After peering around and making as
much of an examination of our surround
iugs as the darkness would permit, La
Mountain said he feared his balloon was
played out; that we were evidently far
into the woods, and if we got out our
selves we ought to be very thankful.
This prediction proved to be far nearer
the truth than even the Professor sup
posed.


1--WE rolled ourselves up in our blan-
kets, patiently waiting for the morning.
The cold rain spouted down upon us in
rivulets from the great balloon that lazily
rolled from side to side above our heads,
and we were soon drenched and uncom-
Portable as men could be. After night
passed in great apprehension and un-
rest, we were right glad to see the first
rays of coming light. Cold and rainy
the morning at last broke, the typical
precursor, we were to learn, of other
dismal mornings to be spent in those un-
inhabited wilds. We waited until 6
o'clock, in hopes the rain would cease,
and that the rays of the sun, by warm
ing and thereby expanding the gas in
the balloon, would give lis ascending
power sufficient to get up again, for the
purpose, if no other, of obtaining a
view of the country into which we had
descended. The rain did not cease, and
we concluded to throw over all we had
in the balloon, except a coat for each,
the ife-preservers, the anchor and the
compass. Overheard, then, they went
good shawis and blankets, bottles of
ale and flask of cordial, ropes and
traps of all kinds. The Atlantic, re-
heved of this wet load, rose majesticaly
with us, and we were able to behold the
country below. 1t was an unbroken
wilderness of lakes and spruce-and /
began then to fully realize that we had
gone too far, through miscalculation of
the velocity of the balloon. AS the cur
rent was still driving us toward the
north we dare not stay up, as we were
drifting still further and further into
trouble. La Mountain seized the valve
cord and discharged gas, and we de-
scended in safety to the solid earth.
Making the Atlantic fast by her anchor,
we considered what was to be done.


"We had not a mouthful to eat,
no protection at night from the damp
ground, were distant we knew not how
far from any habitation. were hungry to
start with, had no possible expectation
of raising fire, and no definite or salts
factory idea as to where we were. We
had not even respectable pocket
knife, not pin to make fish-hook of
indeed were about as well equipped
for forest life as the babes in the wood
were.


"After protracted discussion, in
which all our ingenuity was brought to
bear upon the question of our where
abouts, we settled in our minds (mainly
from the character of the timber around
us) that we were either in John Browns
tract, or in that wilderness lying between
Ottawa City and Prescott, Canada. John
Browns tract is well-known section OF
the State New York, extending along the
northeastern border, and containing over
1000 square miles. The land is poor
and cold the timber spruce, pine and
hemlock to.a great extent, and with many
small lakes and several large rivers. The
Hudson rises in John Browns tract. II
this we're 80, then we knew tha& course
south by east would take us out If we
had strength enough to travel the dis