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surged back and forth just over the tree tops. It looked for a moment as if we were securely tied and would have to make a landing when, suddenly, the limb broke off and away we started with the limb dangling at the end of the rope. As we rose higher and higher the limb dropped off and we continued the ascent. The doctor was delighted sa this was great sport for him. He wanted to go high so we kept on until I felt my nose getting cold, then my hands and feet, and looking at the small barometer it indicated 14,000 feet. This was too high so I valved some gas.

At this elevation the horizon met the level of the eye in every direction giving the impression of the inside of a bowl under us. The sky was a deep purple, more so than I have ever seen it before and the ground under us was indistinct, doubtless because of the more and dirt in the atmosphere. I pointed in the distance to what I believed to be the ocean ahead of us but the doctor did not agree. However, I packed everything of value in the wicker hamper and prepared to thrown everything else overboard. We had two cameras and some valuable exposures that I wanted as records of this trip. They were in the hamper. Then we put on pneumatic life preservers and blew them up tight as they are helpful in case of a bad landing, as well as useful in case of being dropped into the water. We were approaching the ocean and traveling at a high rate of speed. Ahead of us was a large house and barn. Bringing the balloon down low we passed directly over the Daniel Webster property. The basket struck the roof of the barn and ripped off some shingles. The anchor was knocked off and caught in some telephone wires and pulled down a pole. We then ripped through an orchard, the pole striking a flat rock fence. We passed over open fields with the basket striking so hard that it would bounce 40 to 50