BALLOONING ADVENTURES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9346, 15 January 1909, Page 8

BALLOONING ADVENTURES.

Careful study and jnst comparisons would doubtless concede to Washington Harrison Donaldson the high rank-high, indeed, in a double sense —of having been the greatest aeronaut the world up to this time has ever known. Donaldson, says the Scrap Book, did more things never even undertaken by any other aeronaut than any man who ever lived. But his boldest and most seemingly reckless feats were to him no more than the every day work of a man of a strong mind, a stout heart, and perfectlytrained body. Donaldson’s career as an aeronaut was brief. His first ascent was made on August 30tn, 1871, his last on July 15tb, 1875. Cue of the most exciting and dangerous voyages ever made by Donaldson was that of September 7th, 1874, when he carried up as pas saogers Mr Emmons and Mr Kramer. Of this trip Mr Emmons later wrote as follows: — “At three miles "high Donaldson showed how rapidly we were rising by directing onr attention to how swiftly tissue-paper would fail when thrown over. We continued to rise until we arrived at an altitude of three and a half miles, and looking away across the Jersey, pine forests could see the white shores of the ocean “lu the descent the balloon struck a strong currant ulowing towards the ocoan Over ' Doylestown, Douk, aid a on noticed the balloon desceod- “ ing, and. vainly wished for ballast to cast - over-board. At last lie pointed to the long line of white beach over the pine forest, beyond which the ocean rolled, and said : “ ‘Do you see that? We ao not

want to go there, and that is where the wind is taking ns. ’ ‘HOLD DEATH!’

“With that he gave the valve rope a pull and we-began> rapid descent. We were going through the air as a hawk falls upon its prey. In a few steady, simple words, without any unnecessary fuss, Donaldson, standing on the right side of the basket, told us he was compelled to make the.descent with great rapidity, for the wind was blowing a gale, and forcing ua rapidly towards the ocean. He knew the landing was to be a very rough one, and said : “ ‘Hold on like death, and whatever happens, stick to the basket. ’ “The velocity of our descent .increased until it was tremendous. Again Donaldson called: “ ‘Stand up and hold on. If you are at the bottom of the basket when she strikes she will knock the life out of yon.’ ... . “Presently she struck with tremendous force in a field. The writer was jerked into the basket, dislocating his shoulder. “Presently we were skimming along within a few feet of the ground at the rate of 50 miles an hour making an occasional bump, taking the top bars off the fences, striking a great haystack in the middle, and going right through it. “Then we struck a dense pine forest. Crash ! Bang ! “Rip! Tear 1 The branches flying to pieces around □a —right through the trees we went. How we escaped being speared by the long-pointed arms, or knocked on the head by the trunks or jostled out of the basket by the branches is a mystery. I only know that foi one breathless minute heavy timber was breaking around us, and we were tearing through every obstruction, until suddenly we stopped with a jerk, swinging in the basket 40 feet from the ground on the naked limb of an enormous pine tree. “The netting was twisted and twined round half a dozen other trees, the balloon being ripped from top to bottom and hanging in festoons around us. We were three miles from where we first struck earth, and had made the distance in about as many minutes. “All I want to say is that I would not have missed, the ride with ail its mishaps on any account, and do not think that anything in this experience" could deter anyone from making a balloon trip.”