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New York, April 26.-Nearly 12,000 feet high among the clouds and whirling through the air at times faster than a mile a minute, Alan R. Hawley, a wealthy stock broker of this city, with Arthur Athenholt, a rich Philadelphian, made a sensational balloon flight.
The started from Philadelphia, intending to make a quick trip to this city. They ran into an easterly current of air which blew with hurricane force after passing New Brunswick, N. J. The velocity of the wind they estimated at eighty-five miles an hour. They feared that if they remained among the clouds they would be swept far out over the Atlantic Ocean, so they decided to cut the journey short.
They traveled many miles, however, before they reached the earth and then they landed in a creek near Matawan, N. J. Both men were bumped and jostled about severely and emerged from the creek very wet, but extremely happy. Their only regret was that records which they made while the balloon was flying far above the earth at a speed greater than the fastest express train were lost in the creek.
Their flight from start to finish lasted ninety-three minutes, more than fifteen minutes being spent in maneuvering for a landing. In a direct line the landing place was sixty miles from the starting point, but it is estimated they actually traveled about eighty miles, not counting a straight upshoot into the air of a mile at the start and other ascents and descents during the journey.
It was the sixty balloon flight for Mr. Hawley and the second for his companion. They used an immense French balloon named the Initial. The big bag holds 35,000 cubic feet of gas. Mr. Hawley's nerves were not in the lease unstrung by the experience. He said:
"When we started we shot straight up for about a mile. At this height one experiences an unpleasant buzzing in the ears, but for the first time I did not have the sensation. When we had been in the air about five minutes we got our bearings and started off in a northerly direction. In about forty-five minutes we were sailing over Trenton and from there we drifted northeast to New Brunswick, which we reached about 1:50 o'clock.
"The wind at this time became very sharp, blowing about eighty-five miles an hour. It was driving us toward the coast. We debated whether we should keep it and run the risk of being blown out to sea or make a descent. We decided on the landing. When we finally hit the ground-and were were some time getting there-we struck about half a mile west of Matawan, N. J. As we were descending a gust of wind upset my calculations and the basket, after bumping us about, dumped us very neatly in the water of a creek. It was a good ride all bat the finish."


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