Viewing page 164 of 182
This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
Lost in Mid-Air Prof. Wise on the Donaldson Mystery His Belief in the Balloonist's Safety-A Story of the Canadian Wilderness-No Tidings at Chicago. Ballon Travel By Night-King's Trip. Chicago, July 23.-Although it is a week yesterday since Donalson and Grimwood disappeared in the balloon, nothing definite has been heard, and theories as to their probable fate are as numerous as the inhabitants. The more reasonable have given up now all hope of their restoration, while the more sanguine still expect to see them alive, and maintain that they have landed somewhere out of reach of civilization, and their reappearance is only a matter of time. Prof. Wise Hopeful of Donaldson's Safety-His Reasons Therefor. In the opinion of Prof.Wise, the veteran aeronaut, expressed to a Times reporter last night, the fate of Donaldson and his journalistic companion cannot be belief in the balloonist's safety upon two facts,to wit: That in September, 1859, Messrs. John A. Haddock and John Lemountain made an ascent from Watertown, New York State, and, encountering a hurricane, were driven in a northwesterly direction fora few hours with such tremendous rapidity that they found themselves hovering over a vast desolation in Northern Canada. Effecting a descent, they struggled on through dense forests and bleak wastes for four days, ere they discovered the slightest trace of civilization, and were six more days in reaching a point where they could telegraph their safety home. In such a cyclone, it is Mr. Wise's conviction, Donaldson's airship was caught, and that he is now far off in some vast Northern wilderness he regards as a strong probability. In the second place he regards the destruction of the balloon in Lake Michigan as highly improbable, for the reason that an aeronaut's experiences teach him to rise above the tornado, or failing in this, by reason of the absence of sufficient power, he could keep before it till land was reached, and then descend in safety. The professor said last evening that he would not hesitate for a moment to make an ascent under similar circumstances from Chicago, in fact he would prefer the cyclone to mild weather, and if Donaldson's well-known recklessness hadn't led him to destruction he was very far from death. The herbs and berries of Canada are sufficiently nutritious to sustain life, while opportunities would arise for the capture of game. The old gentleman's eyes glistened as he thought of the attractions of such an adventure. When the charge of recklessness was against Donaldson in connection with [[Italic]]Graphic[[/Italic]] transatlantic balloon, he (Donaldson) refuted it. So one day it was arranged, on abet, to have his head examined by Mr. Powell, a prominent phrenologist, who, at the time, was ignorant of his subject's name. The immediate decision of the head-examiner was that the most remarkable bump was that of utter disregard for anything in the shape of consequences. With reference to the case of one Schroeder, of Baltimore, who pretends to have discovered the practicability of generating gas in mid-air, Mr.Wise laughed heartily, and was disposed to regard enthusiast as insane. Rumors and Theories at Chicago. [[Italic]]From Chicago Inter-Ocean[[/Italic]] Public interest in the fate of Donaldson and Grimwood has not in the least abated, but unhappily there is nothing to keep it alive but a series of vague rumors and speculations, some plausible enough, some exceedingly absurd, and all of them apparently lacking the essential element which reports need above all else to give them the slightest value. Since the balloon started, a week ago, there have been no trustworthy tidings of the missing men, excepting the story told by the captain of the Little Guide. All the rest is "leather and prunella." The only hope left is that they are landed somewhere in the Michigan pineries, and that is a very forlorn hope. Some men who have been there say that, supposing they had landed there, the men might wander for ten days before reaching any habitation, and at the same time they might be able to sustain life on wild berries, which, at this season, are plentiful in these solitudes. If there is any reliance to be placed If there is any reliance to be placed on any one of the rumors of a balloon being seen in the air, it is impossible that the occupants could be alive in it now. A very widely-accepted theory about the fate of the hapless voyagers is, that about the time the storm came up on Thursday night they described the danger ahead, and being perhaps within hail of the vessel cut loose from the balloon, and trusted themselves to the mercy of the waves rather than the chances of the wind. The captain of the Guide saw the balloon shoot suddenly upward and out of sight. Perhaps the voyagers were just then struggling to work their way to the ship, but were unseen by the people on board. None of the vessels that arrived yesterday brought any news of the departed air ship. All the captains are on the lookout for any information about the missing men, but so far they have failed to discover any. G.H. Vanwormer and J.R. Phillips, aeronauts, offer one hundred dollars in addition to the reward already offered for the recovery of Professor Donaldson and Grimwood. Messrs. Vanwormer and Phillips will make an ascension from this city next Saturday. A dispatch from Cleveland announces that Professor King, the aeronaut, has been engaged by Barnum to take the place of Donaldson, and that he will make an ascension from St. Louis this evening. From One Who Has Sailed With Donaldson. [[Italics]]To the Editor of The Times:[[/Italics]] The writer of the article on Donaldson's career, in this morning's TIMES, is in error as to the number of ascensions made by him, as contrasted with other aeronauts. The writer accompanied him on a trip last season, lasting some four days, during which four ascensions were made, counting from the seventieth. Sometimes a number of departures are thus made with one inflation, and are duly counted. I undertook a short cruise last October with Professor John Wise, which he numbered, I think, 453, dating over a period of forty year. Within the present month I participated in a trip from Cleveland, in Professor King's "Buffalo," which he counted at 183, many of them having been very long voyages. Experience with thee several gentlemen convinces me hat a balloon properly constructed and furnished with a drag rope of good length, could, and should, outsail the limits of any of the northern lakes. In fact, for night traveling, water is preferable to land, as the constant lookout for obstacles, such as very high dead trees, need not be kept up. Prof. King traveled, with a party of five persons, almost the entire length of Lake Erie last season, a portion of the time in the dark. They were over the water about eight hours. In a storm a balloon would go the length of the longest of our lakes in much lass time than that, even if dragging. Prof. Donaldson has more than once cut the basket away and taken to the ring of the aero-stat, and he certainly would have done so in the present instance if unable to keep above water otherwise. He may come out of the woods yet. HOPE. PHILADELPHIA, July 22, 1875. In the Journal of September 4th the author of an article entitled "High-Flying and its Dangers" erroneously put to death the distinguished aëronaut[[?]], Professor Wise. We are half inclined to thank our contributor for his mistake, inasmuch as it has been the means of eliciting he subjoined pleasant note from the still living and very hopeful professor: "PHILADELPHIA, [[Italics]]September[[/Italics]] 4, 1875. "[[Italics]]To the Editor of Appletons' Journal[[/Italics]]. "DEAR SIR: In the present number of your JOURNAL you say I 'died peacefully in my bed.' In saying that, you committed a moral homicide. I am not dead nor sleeping, but full or life and vigor, working and living in the hope of being enabled to prove to the world that a system of aërial[[?]] drifting with the balloon, [[Italics]]via[[/Italics]] Gulf Stream air-current, from New York to England, is a feasible thing. Indeed, it is merely a matter of endurance to float. That part of the necessity is no longer problematical. We can use copper balloons. One of two hundred feet diameter, made of copper sheeting, weighing one pound per square foot, will have a net lifting power of sixty-eight tons when filled with hydrogen gas. "Now, as I hope to live long enough yet to demonstrate this theory in an humble way, you will be generous enough to resuscitate me, pat me on the back, and say encouragingly, 'Go on and try.' As another inducement to you to keep me alive a little while longer, allow me to tell you that I am diligently engaged in laying the foundation of a system of weather predictions by which we shall be enabled to prophesy the weather a year in advance. We have cycles of weather, as we have cycles of eclipses. Our planet is subject to vicissitudes of perturbations and pressures from the other planets by conjunctions, oppositions, quadratures, and by the interference of comets, acting upon the elastic shell of our earth, its atmosphere producing climactic phenomena that fail to be explained by mere terrestrial differentiations. "All these considerations toward the evolution and progress of science call upon you to take me out of the death-bed and to put me fairly on my feet again, as I have before me this minute a proposition to make a number of balloon-ascensions in then interest of science. "Your JOURNAL claims to disseminate science, civilization, art, refinement, and literature, and it will but be promoting these ends by allowing me a lease yet a little while longer over and beyond the sixty-seven winters that have frosted my head, if not to fully establish the two systems above mentioned, to at least teach my grandson, John Wise the younger, how to make up the line of march in the science of meteorology, to prove that the balloon is made for nobler ends than acrobatic performances. "Very respectfully, "Your friend and fellow-citizen, "JOHN WISE." THE BALLOON ASCENSION. MRS. IHLING'S NARRATIVE- A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE DARING LADY'S OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCES IN MID AIR. We have received from Mrs. Izzie Ihling the following interesting description other ascension from the fair grounds on Tuesday: Mr. EDITOR: I made my second lone ascension on the 14th day of September, 1875, from Mr. Sulouff's fair ground near Harrisburg. I was a fine day, and I felt like making a good scientific air-voyage. My preceptor, Prof. John Wise, has admonished me that if I was determined to go into the balloon business, by all means to do it in the interest of meteorology, and thus make it a credit to myself and all those concerned in it, under the motto of [[Italics]]"Pro scientia cum amene tate."[[/Italics]] I took with me a trail rope, aneroid barometer, thermometer and notebook. My notes made at starting and while aloft are as follows: Started at 3:15 p.m. from the park. 3:20-barometer marked 3,00 feet,thermometer 79 degrees. 3:30-barometer 4,000 feet, thermometer 76 degrees. (Heavy fog.) 3:50-barometer 5,500 feet, thermometer 71 degrees. (Above the mountain. Balloons standing still.) 4 o'clock-barometer 6,000 feet, thermometer 70 degrees. 4:10-barometer 6,500 feet, thermometer 69 degrees. (Above mountain.) 4:20-barometer 7,000 feet, thermometer 65 degrees. 4:30-standing still. 4:35-barometer 7,500 feet, thermometer 63 degrees. 4:55-barometer 3,200 feet. (Came down pretty fast. Heard the people shouting, "Come down, come down." I kept about this height and sailed along looking out for a little clear spot to pounce down no.) 5:20-barometer 3,000 feet. Sailing along slowly. 5:30-barometer 3,500. I now watched for a spot, and at 5:50 found it on the farm of Henry Buffington in Powell's valley, Jefferson township, Dauphin county, one mile west from Round Top. The people flocked to see me and all showed the greatest marks of kindness-men, women and children, about 125 by count-all apparently rejoiced beyond measure. Mr. S. S. Horning took me to his house, where Mrs. Horning gave me a good supper, and I relished it, for I had a vigorous appetite. I may now say a few words as to my feelings: I had intended to come down near the park ground, the air being calm but before I started I heard the remark "She won't venture out of the Park." That made me think it would even be so and hence I said to myself, mountains must have valleys and I will trust to my good supply of ballast to pick out a nice little valley for a landing place. I am glad the remark was made. The scenery below and around me was grand and varied. The beautiful Susquehanna made the Jordan for my Jerusalem and the blue peaks of Dauphin were my thoughts as I viewed and reviewed the glorious panorama. Long after I left, where high above the mountain tops I could see the figure of 8, that forms the race course in the driving park. I felt such a gratification in the scenes around me that I had no desire to come down until the circumstances attendant to balloon voyages rendered it imperative, having sailed to the last pound of my ballast. To all my friends, at starting and landing I am gratefully indebted for their uniform courtesy and kindness. I felt no fear when aloft, only when I had to come down very fast to make my station clear, and the rush of air up against the balloon made flap and rustle like the wings of a might bird struggling to reach the earth. LIZZIE IHLING
