IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 9/ ^% ^<i>^. 
 
 
 
 "^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 L6» 
 
 fA 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 I^^ IM ||2.5 
 
 y£ !■■ IIIII22 
 
 Hi Ij 
 
 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 
 11.25 
 
 1.4 1.6 
 
 1^ — 
 
 
 < 6" 
 
 ► 
 
 P^. 
 
 7] 
 
 <^^^/\°y^ > 
 
 7: 
 
 
 >^ 
 
 ?• 
 
 o 
 
 / 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 « 
 
 % 
 
 73 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
 #% V ^^^ 
 
 ^ 
 

 L<9 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 □ 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 d 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 Covers damaged/ 
 Couverture endommagde 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul6e 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gdographiques en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Relid avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distortion le long de la marge intdrieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte. 
 mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas 6t6 filmdes. 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les d4tails 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage 
 sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. 
 
 Coloured pages/ 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 I I Pages damaged/ 
 
 Pages endommagdes 
 
 Pages restored and/oi 
 
 Pages restaurdes et/ou pellicul6es 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxei 
 Pages d6color6es, tachetdes ou piqudes 
 
 P&jes detached/ 
 Pages ddtachdes 
 
 Showthrough> 
 Transparence 
 
 I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 
 I I Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 
 I I P&jes detached/ 
 
 I I Showthrough/ 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 n 
 
 Quality of print varies/ 
 Quality indgale de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary material/ 
 Comprend du materiel supplementaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscu.ed by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont 6t6 filmdes d nouveau de fapon d 
 obtenir la meilleuro image possible. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppldmentaires: 
 
 This item is a photoreproduction. 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X 18X 22X 
 
 I I I I I I I I I I M |y| 
 
 26X 
 
 30X 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 32X 
 
The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 National Library of Canada 
 
 L'exemplaire film6 fut reprodiMt grSce d la 
 g6n6rosit6 de: 
 
 Bibliothdque nationale du Canada 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol -^^ (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol "7 (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin. compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire fiimd. et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Les exemplaires orig(naux dont la couverture en 
 papier est irnprim6e »ont filmte en commenpant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont filmte en commen^ant par la 
 premidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par 
 la dernidre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la 
 dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ". le 
 symbols V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour §tre 
 reproduit en un seul ciich6, il est f ilmd d partir 
 de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, 
 et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre 
 d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mdthode. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
' -.WITH. 
 
 PROFESSOR JOHN t-AMOUKTAm. 
 
 PHfUOOPHIA; 
 
 Ii9« youth "Phlrtf ^tTMi.''^ 
 187^ 
 
 '<■ ' ■ ■ ' ■ 
 
 y iiiii p i ll 
 
 H * .■ '*• ".. < V 
 
 

 Mfi. HADDOCK'S tiARr^ATlVE 
 
 OK lilS 
 
 HAZARDOUS AND EXCITING 
 
 IN THE 
 
 1^11®®! 4tMii'a(0^ 
 
 WITH 
 
 PROF. JNO. LaMOUNTAIN 
 
 CABEPULIiY REVISED, 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY SCATTEBQOOD. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PRESS OF HADDOCK & SON, 108 South Third Street. 
 
 1872. 
 
The ovvrer nnd adiress of th« original copy: 
 
 Mr. irik nilcles-riHun, 
 128 Rowland -oad, 
 FAinl-'lLLD, Conn. 
 
 h' 
 
 ou 
 
 " ; 
 
1 
 
 OEXPLA.NA'TORY.O 
 
 It is now about thirteen years since the undersigned made tlie 
 memorable balloon voyage with Professor Jno. LaMountain— a 
 voyage intended to be short and pleasant, but which resulted in a 
 long and most disastrous one, entailing the loss of the valuable bal- 
 loon, and seriously endangering the lives of the travelers. Since 
 then, LaMountain, after serving through the Great Rebellion, has 
 made his last " voyage," and has entered upon that existence where 
 all the secrets of the pathless skies arc as well defined and under- 
 stood as are the course of rivers with us here. 
 
 Within the past two or three years I have often been requested 
 to re-publish my account of that celebrated trip, and have at last 
 consented to do so, in order to afford my friends and the public an 
 opportunity of perusing it, and to enable them to comprehend how 
 a man apparently sensible as regards business affairs and every-day 
 life, may sometimes do a foolish thing that will seriously affect his 
 business prospects, and cause great and unnecessary di-stress to his 
 friends. For now, as I look back upon the events I am about to 
 relate, I can but regard my balloon voyage as almost impiously 
 hazardous and foolish, and meriting censure rather than commend- 
 ation. 
 
 Yet to fully understand my reasons for making the trip, some 
 leading facts should be presented 
 
 I. There had been, as the public will rern-mber, all through 
 the year 1859, much excitement in the public mind upon the sub- 
 ject of ballooning. In August of that year I returned from Labrador, 
 and found that the balloon Atlantic, with Wise, Hyde, Geagek and 
 LaMountain, had been driven across a part of Lake Ontario, while 
 on their great trip from St. Louis to New York city, and had landed 
 and been wrecked in Jefferson county, N. Y., (where I was the edi- 
 tor of a newspaper,) and the people of that whole section were as a 
 (3) 
 
Iv 
 
 EXri.ANATOKV. 
 
 consequence, in n state of considerable xcilemenl upon tlie subject 
 of navi^atint; the air.* 
 
 2. 1 had heard of other newspaprr editors making trips in bal- 
 loons, had read their i,do\vin|,' accounts, and it seemed to me like a 
 veiy cunnin;^' thin^'. Desiring to enjoy " all that was a-goin-," I 
 naturally wantid a balloon-ride, too ! and therefore concluded to 140, 
 expecting not to be absent from home more than 10 or 12 hours at 
 the longest, and to have a good time. The reader will learn, as 
 he reads the narrative, just how good a time I did have, and just 
 how much I enjoyeil it. In addition, being a newspaper man, and 
 always on the alert for news, I had a natural desire to do all in my 
 power to add to the local interest of my journal, and for that reason 
 felt a willingness to go through with more fatigue ami hazard than 
 men are expected to endure in ordinary business pursuits. 
 
 3. I felt safe in going, as I knew that LaMount.mn was an in- 
 trepid and successful aeronaut, and I thought his judgment was to 
 be depended upon. How completely he was ndsled as to distance, 
 and how little he knew, or any man can know, of air-navigation, the 
 narrative will readily demonstrate. 
 
 With these explanations I will proceed with my original nar- 
 rative, nearly as written out at the time— the sense not being mate- 
 rially changed, though the wording may be somewhat modified. 
 
 JOHN A. HADDOCK, 
 Of Haddock. & Son, Publishers and Job Printers, 
 
 108 Noath Third St., Pbiluda. 
 
 » The Wise named above is the celel."rat>.il .I'.ronaut, riofcssor John Wisk, of 
 I^ancaster, Pa. ; and I m.-iy here rem.irk lluU the irip made l)y liim and his associates is 
 by far the longe-t en rLxoid. Leaving; St. Louis at about 4 P. M., they passed the 
 whole niyht in tlie air, were carried across the St.ntcs of lUinois, Indiana, a portion of 
 Ohio and Micliit^an, over the whole northwestern breadth of Penn>ylvania and New 
 York, and were at last w. jcked in a hu{;e tree-top near the shore of Lake ( )ntari;), at about 
 ■\ P. M. the next day, escajiini; with severe bruises but without broken bones, after a 
 journey of at least eleven hundred miles. Th se adventurers did not travel as fast, nor 
 encounter the perils th.at awaited us, but they made a lontjer voyaf;e. It was with this 
 same balloon Atlantic that LaMuuntain and myself m.ade our trip; but it had been 
 reduced one-third in size, and was in thorough repair— indeed as good as new. 
 
THE ASCENSION. 
 
 s 
 
 From th* Wittrtown (N. Y ) Rtformar. Eitf«, of Octobor 5. 1859. 
 
 MR. HADDOCK'S ACCOUNT. 
 
 300 WILE S IN FOU R HOURS 1 
 
 They Land in the Great Canada 'Wilderness. 
 
 ATLAH TIC ABAHD OBP. 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE. 
 
 Nearly every one in this locality [WateRTown, N. Y.] is aware that the second 
 ascension of the Balloon Atlantic was advertised for the 20th of September. The storm 
 of that and the following day obliged the postponement of the Ascension until the 22d 
 (Thursday). Every arrangement had been made for a successful inflation, and at 27 
 minutes before 6 p. m., the glad words "all aboard " were heard from LaMountain, and 
 that distinguished aeronaut and myself stepped into the car. Many were the friendly 
 hands we shook— many a fervent "God bless you," and "happy voyage," were uttered— 
 and many handkerchiefs waived their mute adieus. " Let go all," and away we soared ; 
 the horses on the square "reared and pitched" a good deal at the novel sight, lut in an 
 in.5tant all minor sounds of earth had cexsed, and we were lifted into a silent sphere, 
 whose shores were without an echo, their silence equaled only by that of the grave. 
 Not the least feeling cf trepidation w.is experienced ; an extraoadinary ehition took pos- 
 session of my soul, and fear was as far removed as though I had been sitting in my own 
 
 room at home. , . j r u ir 
 
 Two or three things struck me as peculiar in looking down from an altitude of half 
 a mile : the small appearance of our village from such a height, and the beautiful me- 
 chanical look which the straight fences and oblong-square fields of the farmers present. 
 The buildings in the Milage do not, from such a height, appear to cover a tenth part of 
 the ground. Our poor old courthouse looked like a pepper-box standing on a ten-acre 
 lot, and the lallest church spire barely equaled in size a respectable May pole. 
 
 As we rose into the light fleecy clouds, they looked between us and the earth like 
 patches of snow we see lying upon the landscape in Spring time; but when we rose a 
 
'1 
 
 THE THERMOMETER CLOSELY WATCHED — GETTING COLD. 
 
 liltic higher the ch)U(ls completely shut out the earth, ami the cold white masses below 
 us had |)recisely the same look that a mountainous snow covereil country does, as you 
 look down upon it from a hit;lier mountain. Those who have crossed the .Mps — or have 
 Stood ujion one of the lofty summits of the Sierra Nevada, an<l gazed doMn upon tlu 
 eternal snows below and around them, will be able to catch the idea I am tryini; to cun- 
 vey. In six minutes we were far above all the clouds, and the sun and we were iace to 
 face. \Vc s.iw the time after that when his face looked very fair ;o us. In eij;ht min 
 Utes after leaving the earth, the thermometer showed a fall of 24 degrees. It stood at S4 
 when we left. The balloon rotate<l a good deal, proving that we were ascending with 
 great ra. idity. At 5:48 thermometer stooi' at 42, and falling very fast. At 5:50 \vc were 
 ot least two miles high — thernKmieter 34. At this point a suggestion m.vle by a fiicnd 
 just before starting, w.as found to be a very good one. lie had advised the taking along 
 of some cotton, with which to fdl the ears when at great heights, and my father had pro- 
 cured nie some. The unpleasant ringing sensation had now become painful, and 1 tilled 
 both ears with cotton. This made my head feel a good deal as a very large hollow 
 pumpkin may be supposed to, with a humming bird buz/.ing u|>on its surface — a compar- 
 ison with which, douinless, many who read this account will hardly ((uarrel. At 5:52 we 
 put <m our gloves and shawls— thermometer 32. The wet sand bags now became stiff 
 with cold — ihcy were frozen. Ascending very rapidly. At 5:54 thermometer ^S, and 
 fi\lling. Here we caught our last sight of the earth by daylight. I recogni/cd the St. 
 Lawrence to the s<nith-\vest of us, which showed we were drifting nearly north. A{ 
 o'clock we thought we were descending a little, and I.a.Mountain directed me to throw 
 out about 20 pounds of ball.ist. This shot us up .again— thermometer 26, and f.illing 
 very slowly. At 6:05 thermometer 22— my feet were very cold. The .\tlantic was now 
 full, and presented a most splendid sight. The gas beg.in to discharge itself at the 
 moiil'i, and its abominable smell, as it came down upon us, made me sick. .\ moment's 
 Vonutin;pnade me feel all right again. I.aMounlain w.as suffering a good Ac \\ wlih 
 cold. I passed my thick shawl around his shoulders, .and jnit the blanket over oin knees 
 and feci. At 6:io thermomeier 18. We <lrifted along until the sun left us, ami in a 
 short time thereafter the balloon began to descend. At 6:30 thermometer 22, ti i;i;-;. 
 Threw over about 5 lbs. b.allast. We must have been, before we began to descend Iroui 
 this height, 3'i miles high. At 6:32 thermometer 23, rising. We were now .d)ou! 
 stationary, and thought we were sailing north of east. We could, we thou;;hl, distii;guisli 
 water below us, but were un.ible to recogiii/e it. At 6:38 we thnw over a bag ol sand, 
 .nakin:; So pounds of ballast disciiarged, and leaving about 120 jiounds on haml. \\ c 
 disiiniily I.eard a dog bark. Thermometer 28— and rising rapidly. At 6:45 the tlier 
 momclcr stood .at 33. 
 
 At (>;50 it was <lark, and I could make no more memoranda. I put up my note book, 
 pencil and watch, and settled down into the Iwsket, feeling (juite contented. Kron» this 
 point until next morning I give my experiences from memory only. The figures given 
 were made at the times indicated, and the ihcrmometric variations can be depeiulcd upon 
 as quite accurate. 
 
 We he.ard, soon after dark, a locomotive whistle, and occasion dly could hear ^vagor.s 
 rumbling over the ground or a bridge, while the larmers' do-s kept U]) a continued hay 
 ing, as if conscious there was something mor irons anil unusual in the sky. We saded 
 along, contented and chatty, until about half-past 8 o'clock, when we distinctly saw lights 
 below us, and heard ih.- roaring of a mighty -.vater-fall. We descended into a valley 
 rear a very high mountain, but as the pkice appe.arcd rather forbidding, we concludcil t<« 
 
"1 
 
RODE FAR ENOUGH— TIED TO A TKEE-TOP, J 
 
 go up again. Over with 30 lbs. of ballast, and skyw.nrd we sailed. In alx)ut 20 mifi- 
 iites we again descended, but this time no friendly lights nor •' deep-mouthed watchdogs' 
 heavy bay " greeted us. We seemed to be over a dense wilderness, and the balloon was 
 settling down just into a small lake. We had our life-preservers ready for use, but got 
 up again by throwing out all our ballast except perhaps 30 pounds. LaMduntain now 
 declared it was folly to stay up any longer, that we were over a great wiUlcrness, and 
 the sooner we descended the better. We concluded to settle down by the side of some 
 tall tree, tie up, and w.ait until morning. In a moment we were near the earth, and ps 
 we gently descended I grasped the extreme top of a high spruce, which stopped the bal- 
 loon's momentum, and we were soon lashed to the tree by our large drag-rope. 
 
 i 
 
 After peering around and mnking as much c' an cxr'.tnin;-itit]n of our surroundings as 
 the darkness would permit, L iMountain said he feared his balloon was played out ; that 
 we were evidently far into the woods, and if we got out ourselves we ought to be verj* 
 thankful. This prediction proved to be far nearer the truth than even the Professor sup- 
 ]K)sed. 
 
 Wc rollf '1 ourselves up in our blankets, patiently waiting for the morning. The cold 
 rain spouted down upon us in rivulets from tb.e great balloon that lazily rolled from side 
 to side alxive our heads, and we were soon drenclicd and uncomfortable as men could 
 lie. After a night passed in great apprehension and unrest, we were right glad to see the 
 first f.\int 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 uninhabited 
 wilds. We waited until 6 o'clock, in hopes the rain would cease, and that the rays o"" 
 t'le sun, by warming and thereby expanding the gas in the balloon, would give us a- 
 ceriding power sufficient to get up again, for the purpose (if no other) of obtaining a view 
 I if the country into which we had descended. The rain did not cease, and we concluded 
 
8 ASCEND THE SECOND TIME — DESCEND— BALLOON ABANDONED. 
 
 to throw over all we had in the balloon, except a coat for each, the life preservers, the 
 anchor and the compass. Oveiboard, then, they went — good shawls and blankets, bot- 
 tles of ale and a flask of cordial, ropes and traps of all kinds. The Atlantic, relieved 
 of this wet load, rose majestically with us, and we were able to behold the country be- 
 low. It was an unbroken wilderness of lakes and spruce — and I began then to fully re- 
 alize that we had indeed gone too far, through a miscalculation of the velocity of the 
 l)rilloon. As the current was still driving us towards the north, we dare not stay up, as 
 we were drifting still farther and farther into trouble. LaMountain seized the valve- cord 
 and discharged gas, anc. lescended 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 dis- 
 tant we knew not how far from any habitation, were hungry to start with, had no possible 
 expectation of raising a fire, and no definite or satisfactory idea as to where we were. 
 We had not even «t respectable pocket knife, not a pin to make a fish-hook of — indeed 
 were about as well equiped for forest life as the babes in the woods were. 
 
 After a protracted discussion, in which all our ingenuity was brought to bear upon the 
 question of our whereabouts, we settled in our minds (mainly from the character of the 
 timber around us) that we were either in John Brown's tract*, or in that wilderness ly- 
 ing between Ottawa City and Prescot, Canada. If this were so, th«:n we knew that a 
 course south by east would take us out if we had strength enough to trr.vel the distance. 
 
 TRAMPING IN THE WOODS. 
 Acting upon our conclusion we started through the woods towards the south-east. After 
 traveling about a mile we came to the bank of a small stream flowing from the west, and 
 were agreeably surprised to find that some human being had been there before us, for we 
 
 •John Brown's Tract la a well-known Motion of the State of Kew Tork, extending itlong the north- 
 •Mtarn border, end containing over 4,000 eqnare miles. The land Is poor and c>>ld ; the timber spruce, 
 pin* and tiemlork to a great extont aad with many imall lake* and several large rirers. The Hudson 
 riae* In John Browu's Tract. 
 
1 
 
 MESS PORK, DUT NOT A MESS OF PORK — WANHERINdS. 9 
 
 found the stumps of several small trees and the head of a half-barrel which had contained 
 pork. I eagerly examined the inspection stamp. It read — 
 
 "MESS PORK." 
 1'. M." 
 " Montreal." 
 This settled the question that we were in Canada, as I very well knew that no Mon- 
 treal inspection of f>ork ever found its way into the State of New Yotk. Although the 
 course we had adopted was to be a south-easterly one, we yet concluded to f()lU>w this 
 creek to the westward, and all day Friday we traveled up its banks — crossing it aliout 
 
 '; 
 
 ^15^ ^^j;?^.^^:,^ 
 
 noon on a floating log, and striking, on the southern shore, a " blazed " path, wliich led 
 us to a deserted lumber road, and it in turn bringing us to a log shanty on tlie (ijipositc 
 bank. We had hoped this lumber road would lead us out into a clearing or a settle- 
 ment, but a careful examination satisfied us that the road ended here, its objective point 
 evidently being the shanty on the other bank. We concluded to cross the creek to the 
 shanty, and stay there all night. Collecting some small timlicrs for a raft, I.aMountain 
 crossed over safely, shoving the raft back to me. But my weight was greater tlian my 
 companion's, and the frail structure sank under me, precipitating me into the water. I 
 went in all over, but swam out, though it took all my strength to do so. On reaching 
 the bank I found myself so chilled as scarcely to be able to stand. I took olT all my 
 clothes and wrung them as diy as I could. We then proceeded to the shnnty, where \vc 
 found some refuse str.iw, but it was dry, and under a pile of it we cr:nvled — fiuUiiic; it 
 over our heads and faces, in the hope that our breath might aid in warming our cliilled 
 bodies. I think the most revengeful, stony heart would have pitied our condition then. 
 I will not attempt to describe our thoughts as we lay there ; home, chihlren, wife, pa- 
 rents, friends, with their sad and anxious faces, rose up reproachfully before us as we 
 
10 
 
 NEW COUNCIL AND THE ROUTE CHANGED— FROGS. 
 
 tried to sleep. But the weary houn of night Kt last wore away, and at daylight we held 
 a new council. It was evident, we argued, that the creek we were upon was used by 
 the lumbermen for " driving " their logs in the Spring freshets. If, then, we followed it 
 to its confluence with the Ottawa or some stream which emptied into the Ottawa, we 
 would eventually get out the same way the timber went out. The roof of the shanty we 
 were in was covered with the halves of hollow logs, scooped out in a manner familiar to 
 nil woodsmen. These were dry and light, and would make us an excellent raft. Why 
 nnt, then, take four of these, tie them to cross-pieces by wythes and such old things as 
 we could find around the shanty, and pole the craft down stream to that civilization which 
 even a sawlog appeared able to reach. Such, then, was the plan adopted, although it 
 involved the retracing of all the steps hitherto taken, and an apparent departure from the 
 course we had concluded would lead us out. Although we were providentially saved at 
 last by this new plan of travel, I have always believed that we would have been more 
 certain to have reached a settlement, had we keot to the southward as we originally pro- 
 posed, though our strength might have failed u. before we could have traveled out. 
 
 V. ithout delay, then, we dragged the hollow logs down to the creek, and LaMountain 
 proceeded to tie them together, as he was evidently more of a sailor than myself. We 
 at last got under way, and, as we pushed off, a miserable crow set up a dismal cawing — 
 an inauspicious sign, ominous (we feared) of continued trials in store for us. We poled 
 down the stream about a mile, when we come abruptly upon a large pine tree which had 
 fallen across the current, completely blocking the passage of the raft. No other course 
 was left us but to untie the raft, and push the pieces through under the log. This was 
 at last accomplished, when we tied our craft together again, and poled down the stream. 
 
 To-day each of us ate a raw frc^, (all we could find), and began to realize that we were 
 aiUNGRY. Yet there was no complaining— our talk was of the hopeful future, and of 
 
I 
 
 ll 
 
 f? 
 
I'OI.INii TIIK RAIT ALL NK.IIT — TKorill.I': INDKEI), 
 
 1 1 
 
 i) 
 
 
 ■II 
 
 thf home ami civilisation we yet exprcted to reach. Down tlu- crvik wc w cut, into a 
 lake '-onie 4 tniU-s lon^, an<l into wliiili wo of course suji|iii>iil tlu' -ln'. ii) to )ii->, wilh 
 Its outlet at the lower enil. We followeil tlown tlic niirtlii.'iii li.mK, Kiopinj; always near 
 the slioie anil in shallow water, so that our juiles coulil touch the luitidni, until we reached 
 the lower lAireinily of the lake, where we found no outkt, and so turnecl luck upon thi- 
 soulhern shore in (juest of one. On n aching,' the heail of the lake, and exaniiniiii; the 
 stream attentively, we found that the current of the creek turned aliru[>tly to the ri;;iit, 
 which was the reason of our losing it, We felt happy to h ive found our current again, 
 and plic(l our poles like heroes. We passe<l, late in the aftrrnoon, the spot where we 
 hail .it Ihst struck the creek, and wliere lia>! sluck v\> some tree lir.iinhcs as a I.mthn.irk 
 which ini;;ht aid us in case we should at a future lime attempt to s,\ve the Atl.mlic. 
 
 When ni^ht came on we ilid not stop, hut kept the raft Ko'nt; down tliroii^^h t!ie shades 
 «)f awful foiests, whose solemn stillness seemed to hide from us the unrevealed niy>lery 
 of our daikeniiifj future. During the morning the rain had ceased, hut ahout 10 o'clock 
 at night it commenced again. We stopped the " vessel," and erawKd in under s<inie 
 " tag " alders on the hank, where our extreme wearini ss enaliled us to get jierh.ips half 
 an hour's sleep. Ki-.ing agani, (for it was easier to pole the rift at ni ;;ht in I lie rain down 
 an unknown stream, thin to lie on the ground and free/e,) we prcs^ed on urilil peili.ips 
 3 in the morning, when jiure exhaustion compelled us to stop again. This time we 
 found a spot \N Jiere the clayey hank lacked a little of eoiuiMg down to the water. On 
 the muci w I- threw our little hundle of straw, and sat down with our feet drawn up under 
 us, so as to present as little surface to the r.iin as possihle. I'lit we could noi stand .-.luh 
 an uncomfort.ilile ])osition long, and as the daylight of the S.d)!)atli hroke upon u-., we 
 were poling down the stream in a dri/./ling rain. At 8 o'clock we reached a spot ai 
 which the stream narrowed, rushing over large lioulders, an i hetween rotky shores, '^lli^ 
 was troiihle indecil. To get our raft down this 1)1. ee, we regirdecl a-, well iiigh hopeless. 
 We tied up ami examined the shore. Here, again, we found unmi>lakiMlile miik^ left 
 I'V the liimiiermen, they ha\iiig evidently camped at tliii |i .ml, to he h in^Iy hy in tlu- 1 ilioi 
 of gelling the limlier over tliis had spot in the stream. The rapids were aliout a thir 1 of 
 a mile long, and in all the rapids .. the Schuylkill there are none so wild and rom ui!ii 
 as these. After a protr.icled surviy we desceiidi.'d the Innk, and thoughl it lie~.t to alian 
 don our raft, and try oer luck on foot again. After traveling ahout a mile, wo fani i iliv 
 hank so tangleii ,ind rugged, and ourselves so much exhausted, th it satisfactory progre-- 
 was impo.-isil)Ie. .So we concluded to go hack, and if we ti'".Iil get the raft down, even 
 f)ne piece at a time, we would go on w ith her — if not, we woul 1 iaiild as good .'. place 
 as po>sd)le to shield us from tl;e rold and wit, and there await with fortitude that deatli 
 from st.irvation wdiich was beginning to look too prohible. This wis our third dav of 
 eanu-t l.ilior and distressing fitigue, and in all that time we had not ate an ounce of 
 food, nor had chy clothing upon us. 
 
 Acting upon our resolution we at once commenced to get the raft down the rapids, and 
 T freely confess this the most trying and laborious work of a whole life of l.ibor. The 
 (•ieces would not lloat over a rod at a time, before they would stick on some stone which 
 the low water left above the surface ; and then you must jiry the sti"kover in some way, 
 and pass it along to the next obstruction. We were obliged to get into the streim, often 
 up to the middle, with slippery boulders bene ith our feet. Se\er.il times I fell head 
 long — eom[>letely using U]> our compass, which now frantically pointed in any direction 
 its addled head took a fancy to. The water hid unglued the cise, and it was ruined. 
 After Ion" hours of such labor, we got the raft down, and LaMonntain again tied it t-i- 
 
la 
 
 I. \ JluUNTAlM A-iLtlil' — AWOTMICU IMJiV. OL'TI-ET. 
 
 fictlitr. P.i<(siin(jon, In i^<^)\n an Ivi<ir we cimr to ,i lar^c I <kc, alioiit lo tnilt-s |,.ti^,' J>y 6 
 iron.l. Armii»(l it wc must oi' ci.iirM; pist, until wc sIkmiI I |iii<| iIk- «losiri.il ouiIlI. Su 
 we tiirn«v| up to tlir* riijlit, ami jircviMl .>n witli n-, miicK r. v.lmi,,n a«t wc cuiM muster. 
 Tod.iy wo fi)un I mic (l.iin, wliitli 1 iriMstfl I, iMmiut.iiii «ImiiM cit, a» he was math 
 weaker tii,\n nnsrlf, ami had ate u' -iliiii,' on the i\.\y we w< nl up. 
 
 Fart i)f this d.iy LiM.unitain slept up.itilhe raft, and I wis •• K-Hsand all hands." \% 
 the poor fellow lay tlurc, K.mpletely iisrd up, I sa v that he toul I tint he of nui< !i more 
 a-isistani'c in ^fiuw^ <uit. F.rysipdas, from which Ik h id picviou-ly sufliTcd, had attacked 
 his rij;ht eye; his t.ue was shriveU-d so ihil he looked hki- an nM nun, and hi^ clothe* 
 were nearly torn from his body. A lew te.irs ( oiild not he resinined, and my pra)cr 
 w.is for st.icily deiiverame or speedy death. While iiiycompmion was asleep, ami I 
 hiisily polin^; the r ifl alont;, I was force I to the loiuhision, after delihcrately (.invassinK 
 all the chances, that we were pretty sure to p.-rish there miseriMy at List, llut I could 
 not tease my efforts white (io.l ^Jlve me streii|^ih, and so around the lake we went, into 
 all the indentatif.ns of the shore, keepin}» aKvavs in shallow water. The day a! last wore 
 away, and we stopped at nifjht at a pl.uc we thou^jht least exposed to the wind. We 
 dra{,'Ked the end of our raft out of the water, and l.iid .lown upon th-,- cold ^,'roun I. We 
 were cohl whc i we l.iid down, and both of us treml'lcl hy the hoiu, like men Mill'ering 
 fiom a severe attack of the aKue. The wind hid ruen )Ust at nii.;tit, and the dism.il 
 surj-in^j of the waves upon the shore, formed, I thought, a tittinj; lullaby to slumbers so 
 (lisiiirbed and dismal as ours. 
 
 liy tiiis time our clothes were neatly torn olT. My pint doons were .slit up both h'l^s, 
 and the waistbands nearly ^^one. My boots were mere wrecks, and our iiii.dity wicst 
 linj,'s in the rapids had torn the skin from ntikies and h.uirls. I.aMnint.iin's hat had ihs- 
 ap|)eared ; the lirst day out he had tiirowii away his woolen drawer, and stoekiii^js, as 
 they draL;^;ed him down by the wei^dit of water they .ibsorbeil. And so we coe.ld sleep 
 but little ; it re.illy seemed as th>u-l), dnrini; this iii^ht, wep.isscd throUfjh the Imrrors 
 of death, liut at daylif;ht we f;nt up by de^jrees, first on one knee and then on iheother, 
 so stiff and weak that we ccnild h inlly st.md. Ajjain upon tiie silent, monotonous l.die 
 we went — followinij r<amd its shore for an outlet. About lo o'clock we came to (piite a 
 broad northern stream, which we ihoui^ht was the outlet we witc seel.ini;, aiiil w.tiitered 
 it with joy, bclieviiif^ it would take us to our loiij^-sou^ht t)ituva. .Shortly aitiT eiiteiiiij^ 
 this stre.im it widened out, and be;;,in t > appear like a mere lake. We poled up the 
 westerly shore for about 7 miles, but found ourselves atjiiii deceived as to the outlet — 
 the water we were upon proving to be another l.d;e or b.iyoii. We had >;one into this 
 Like with the hi^jhest hopes, but when we found that all the weary miles of our morniiifj 
 tra\cl had been in v.iin, ami hid to be retraced, my resolution cert.iinly filled iii'' fa a 
 moment, and I felt like shedding; one tear of genuine re;;it't. ^'et we felt tli.it our duty, 
 as Christian men, was to press forward as long as we could stand, and leave the issue 
 with a liij^her Power. 
 
 It hail now been four full <Liys since wc ntc a meal. .Ml we had ale in the nuMnlinie 
 was a froj; apiece, four cl.ims and a few wild beriies, wli ise acid jiroperties and bitter 
 taste hid probably (lone us more harm tiian Ljood. Our streii'^th was bei.;iniiiiij; to fiil 
 very fist, and in.- systems were eviileiiily underj^oinj; an extraordinary chan^'o. I dul 
 not permit myself to think of f.iod— :he thout;ht of a well tilled t.ible would have been 
 too much. My mind continually dwelt upon poor Strain's &ufrerin!.^s on the Isthmus of 
 Darien, (then l.itely published in H.irper's M.i'ji/ine.) He, too, was )ia<ldlin^ a raft 
 down an uiik...)wn stream, half star\ed, and tilled with dreadful forcbodiiij^'s. I»ut I did 
 not belie\e we couM hold out half as lont,' as he hul. He' ides, he was lost in a tropical 
 country, where all nature is kiml to man ; he h.ul fire arms and other weapons with 
 which to kill inline. We were in a cold, inhospitable l.md, without arms, ami iit'.e.'ly 
 unable to build a lire. Slr.iin wis upon a stie.im which he knew would eventually bear 
 him to the sea and to safety; while we were iijxin waters whose flow wc jiositively knew 
 nothing about, and were as nuich lost as thougii in the mountains of the inotm. S'et we 
 could not give it up so, and trie. I to summon up fresh courage as troubles appeared to 
 thicken around us. So we turned the raft around, and ])oIed in silence back towards the 
 place where we had cnteied this last Like. Wc had gone about a mile when we heard 
 the sound of a gun, quickly followed by a second report. No sound was ever so sweet 
 to me as that. W'e halloed as loud as we could, a good many times, but could get no 
 response. We kept our poles going <iuite lively, and had gone about half a mile, when 
 
\l 
 
 I 
 
 \l 
 
 I 
 
SAVED BY CAMERON — GEOGRAPHY — LONG TRIP. 
 
 13 
 
 \\ 
 
 I called LaMountain's attention to what I thought was smoke cuiling up among the trees 
 by the side of a hill. My own eyesight had begun to f.iil very much, and f felt afraid 
 to trust my dulled senses in a matter so vitally important. LaMountain scrutinized the 
 shore very closely, and said he thought it was smoke, and that he believed there was also 
 a birch canoe on the shore below. In a few moments the blue smoke rolled unmis- 
 takably above the tree top^, and we felt that 
 
 WE WERE SAVED I 
 
 Such a revulsion of feeling was almost too much for us. We could hardly credit our 
 good fortune, for our many bitter disappointments had taught us not to be very sanguine. 
 With the ends of our poles we paddled the raft across the arm of the lake, here ])crhaps 
 three-fourths of a mile wide, steering for the canoe. It proved to be a large one, evi- 
 dently an Indian's. Leaving LaMountain to guard and retain the canoe in case the In- 
 dian proved timid and desired to escape from us, I pressed hurriedly up the bank, follow- 
 ing the footsteps I saw in the damp soil, and soon came upon the temporary shanty of a 
 luml>ering wood, from the rude chimney of which a broad volume of smoke was rising. 
 I halloed — a noise was heard inside, and noble looking Indian came to the door. I ea- 
 gerly asked him if he could speak French, as I grasped his outstretched hand. " Yes," 
 he replied, " and English, too !" He drew me into the cabin, and there I saw the head 
 of the party, a noble hearted Scotchman, named Angus Cameron. I immediately told 
 my story ; that we had come in there with a balloon, were lost, and had been over four 
 days without food — eagerly d<;manding to know where we were. Imagine my surprise 
 when he said we were one hundred and fifty miles due north of Ottawa, near 
 300 miles from Watertown, to reach which would require more than 400 miles of travel, 
 following the streams and roads. We were in a wilderness as large as three States like 
 Pennsylvania, extending from Lake Superior on the west to the St. Lawrence on the 
 east, and from Ottawa on the south, to the Arctic circle. 
 
 The party consisted of four persons — Cameron and his assistant, and a half-breed In- 
 dian (LaMab McDougal) and his son. Their savory dinner was ready. I immediately 
 dispatched the young Indian for LaMountain, who soon came in, the absolute picture of 
 wretchedness. All that the cabin contained was freely offered us, and we began to 
 EAT. Language is inadequate to express our feelings. Within one little hour all the 
 clouds had lifted from our sombre future, and we felt ourselves to be men once more — 
 no longer houseless wanderers amid primeval forests, driven by chance from side to side, 
 but inspired by the near certainty of seeing home again and mingling with our fellows 
 in the busy scenes of life. 
 
 We soon learned from Cameron that the stream we had traversed with our raft is called 
 Filliman's creek — the large lake we were then near was called the Bos-ke-tong, and 
 drains into the Bosketong river, which in turn drains into the Gat-i-neau. 'ine Gatineau 
 joins the Ottawa opposite the city of that name, now the seat of government of Canada. 
 Cameron assured us thnt the Bosketong and Gatineau were so rapid and broken that no 
 set of men could get a raft down, no matter how well they knew the country, nor how 
 many provisions they might have. He regarded our deliverance as purely providential, 
 and many times remarked that we would certainly have perished but for seeing the smoke 
 from his fire. He was hunting timber for his employers, Gilmour & Co., of Ottawa, and 
 was to start in two days down the Gatineau for his headquarters at Desert. If we would 
 stay there until he started, we were welcome, he said, to food and accommocl.iticms, and 
 he would take us down to Desert in his canoe, and at that point we could get Indians to 
 take us farther on. He also said that he had intended to look for timber on Filliman's 
 creek, near svhere the balloon would be found, as near as we could describe the locality 
 to him, and would try to look it up and make the attempt to get it to Ottawa. This 
 would be a long and tedious operation, as the fiortages are very numerous between the 
 creek and Desert — something over 20 — one of them three miles long. Over these port- 
 sges of course the 'ilk must be carried on the backs of Indians. 
 
 After eating all I dared to, and duly cautioning LaMountain not to hurt himself by 
 over-indulgence, I laid down to sleep. Before doing so, I had one of the men remove 
 my boots, and, when they came oflf, nearly the whole outer skin peeled off with the stock- 
 ings. My feet had l>ecome parboiled by the continual soakings of four days and nights, 
 and it was fully three months before they were cured. 
 
i 
 
14 
 
 START FOR HOME — DESERT — LA MAB's WIFE. 
 
 After finishinR up his business in the vicinity where we found him, on Friday morning 
 (our ninth day from home) Cameron started on his return. We stopped, on our way up 
 the creelt, at the snot where we had erected our landmark by which to find the balloon. 
 We struck back for the place, and in aUmt 20 minutes found her, impaled on the tops of 
 four smallish spruce trees, and very much torn. LaMountain concluded to abandon her. 
 He took the valve as a memento, and I cut out the letters "TIC," which had formed 
 part of her name, and brouijht it home with me. We reached what is known as the 
 " New Farm " on Friday nif^ht, and there ended our sleeping on the ground. Up by 
 early dawki, and on again, through the drenching rain, reaching Desert on Saturday eve- 
 ning. 
 
 At Desen we were a good deal troubled to obtain Indians to .ake us further on. La- 
 Mab McDougal had told hi> wife about the balloon, and she being superstitious and ig- 
 norant, had gossipped with the other S(iuaws, and told them the balloon was a " flying 
 devil." As we had traveled in this flying devil, it did not reciuire much of a stretch of 
 Indian credulity to believe that if we were not the Devil's children, we must at least be 
 closely related. In this extremity we appealed to Mr. John Backus*, a kind-hearted 
 American trader, who agreed to procure us a complement of red skins, who would take 
 us to Alexis le Beau's place, (60 miles down the river,) where it was thought we could 
 obtain horses. Sund.ay morning (our eleventh day from home) we started fro.n Desert, 
 and re.iched Alexis le Beau's just at night. The scenery upon this part of our route was 
 sublime and imjxjsing. The primeval forest stood as grand and silent as when created. 
 Our Indians, too, surpassed anything I ever beheld in physical vigor and endurance. In 
 the d.ay's run of 60 miles there were 16 port.nges to be made. On reaching one of these 
 places, they would seize the canoe as quick as we stepped out of it, jerk it out of the 
 water and on to their shoulders in half a minute, and start upon a dog trot as uncon- 
 cernedly as though bearing no burthen. Arriving at the foot of the portage, they would 
 toss the canoe into the stream, steady it until we were seated, then spring in and paddle 
 away, gliding down the stream like an arrow. In the morning we traveled 15 miles and 
 made 7 portages in I hour and 40 minutes. 
 
 At Alexis le Beau's we first beheld a vehicle denominated a " buckboard " — a wide, 
 thick plank reaching from one bolster of the wafon to the other, and upon the middle of 
 whitn plank the seat w.is placed. This sort of conveyance is often used in new coun- 
 tries, being very cheap, and within the reach of ordinary mechanical skill. Starting off 
 as soon as we could get something to eat, we traveled all night through the forest, over 
 one of the worst roads ever left unfinished, and reached Brooks' farm, a sort of frontier 
 tavern, in the early morning, where we slept a couple of hours, and after breakfast pressed 
 on by the rough frontier stage towards Ottawa. 
 
 While the stage was stopping to-day to change horses, I picked up a newspaper at Her 
 Britannic Majesty's colonial frontier post-oflice, and in it read an account of our ascen- 
 sion and positive loss, with a rather flattering obituary notice of myself. And then, for 
 the first time, I began to comprehend the degree of concern our protracted absence had 
 aroused in the public mind. And if the public felt this concern, wliat would be the de- 
 gree of pain experienced by wife, children, parents, friends? These reflections spurred 
 us forward — or, rather, our money induced the drivers to hurry up their horses — and at 
 last, on the twelfih day of our absence, at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we jumped off 
 the stage in front of the telegraph office in the good city of Ottawa, whence, in less than 
 five minutes, the swift lightning was speeding a mess.age to wife and friends. Ah, th.at 
 was a happy moment — the happiest of all my life — when I knew that within 30 minutes 
 my family would know of my safety. 
 
 I do not know how the people of Ottawa so soon found out who we were — but sup- 
 pose the telegraph operator peniaps told some one ; that " some one " must have told 
 the whole town, for in less th.in half an hour there was a tearing, excited, happy, inquisi- 
 tive mass of people in front of the grand hotel there — the clerk of which, when he looked 
 
 '''.''iiiiiotliinj; ()iiife onrioiiH grew out iif my nitmiiif; Mr. John llackiMaslmviiigBssistelusiit llieraoutli 
 of till' DesiMt livur. My Hi'i'oiiiit wiii ^piuTully |)iilili§lmil tliroii);lioiit tlie country, ami notiio ten diiyii 
 nrtur our return I rpceuc-il u lulter I mm a litcly in Veimoiit iiskiuK me toile-friliu tolivr tlio iimii l)it<'k)is. 
 M tliiit wu» llie nailin ot Iht long-aliNi-nt Hon, wtio, twenty yean berorn, had di:<np|io:iroil from home, and 
 never arterw.inU liern licinl fr ni. I auMwored tlie letter inimoflialely, ami tcon iifter liiiriiod lliat tho 
 miin proved to be lier hoii, and lliat he hiul promiBod to mme home «n a vKit. Wluit hMd driven him 
 awiiv I'niin civiliziiliun to live nnioiiK the Imliaim. was be^t 'iuown to hiniHeir. nut a man uf bin ^ouvr- 
 o\is ini|iulnes niiglit have been au uruamout to sueioty, and u bleHiiue tu bis rrieudK. 
 
GLOklOUS OTTAWA — OGUUNsBL'KCill — UATEKTuWN — IKLMK. 
 
 i; 
 
 at our rcif^fjcd clothes and licarded faces, at fir^t thought lie "luichi't a sinj^lc room left," hut 
 who, wlifii he round out th.it we were the loil b.iUoon men, \vant^<l us to liavc tlie wlidle 
 hotel, free rnd above hoard ; and had lea, and supper, and luncii, and "ju-.t a little 
 private supper, you know !" following each other in rapi<l yet mo>t acceptable succession. 
 The happy crowd in the hotel and upon the street were deternnn.'d to shako hands u iih 
 us every one, and nearly all wanted to give or loan us money. Pretty soon the news- 
 paper men and some personal accjuaintances be!.;an to press through tlie crowd, and soim; 
 cried while others laughed and huzzaed. Indeed every one acted as if lliey had just 
 " found something !" And such is human nature always, when its noble sympathies are 
 aroused for the suffering or dii^tressed. 
 
 Although the president of the Ottawa and Prescot Railroad, (Robert Bell, Esq.,) vol- 
 unteered to send us on by a special engine that night, we thought it best (inasmuch as 
 our friends hail been informed of our safety), to st.iy at ( tawa until morning. It did seem 
 as though the generous people of that city could not d> enough for us, ani.l their kind at 
 tention and disinterested enthusiasm will never be forgotten. 
 
 Well, the next morning we left Ottawa, and were ([uickly carried to Prescot; thence 
 across the St. Lawrence river to Ogdensburgh. Here a repetition of the same friendly 
 greetings took place, and at Inst, after a hearty dinner, we left fijr home, now distant only 
 75 miles by rail. All along the line of the road we found enthusiastic crowds awaiting 
 our coming, and all seemed to exhibit unmistakable evidence of the deep interest felt 
 in our fate. At Watertown, which had been my home from boyhood, the enthusiasm \u\d 
 reached fever heat, and the whole town were out to greet the returning ;eronauts. They 
 had out the old camion on the public sipiare, and it belchetl forth the loudest kind of a 
 welcome. My family had of course suil'ered deeply by my al»ence. Every body had 
 given us up for dead except my wife. I felt very cheap about the whole thing, and was 
 quite certain that I had done a very foolish act. Not so the jvople — they thought it a 
 big thing to have gone through with so much, and yet come out alive. 
 
 Several general conclusions and remarks shall terminate this narrative, already too 
 long. "\Vhy did you jiermit yourselves to go so far?" will naturally be asked. To thi-< 
 intjuiry I reply : that the wind was exceetlingly light when we ascended ; that we were 
 very soon among the clouds, and conseijuently unable to take cognizance of i)ur course, 
 or to judge how fast we were traveling. It should be distinctly understood that when 
 you are sailing in a balloon, you are unconscious of motion and progress, unless you can 
 see the earth. Even when you first leave the earth, you seem to be stationary, wiiile the 
 earth appears to drop away from you. Nor can you, when out of sight of the earth, al- 
 though you may have a compass, judge of the direction you are traveling, if traveling at 
 all. In few words, unless you can see the earth, you cannot tell how fust nor in nhai 
 direction you are traveling. This, perhaps, better than anything else, will explain wiiy 
 we unconsciously drifted off to latitudes so remote. When we rose above the thick ma.-..-. 
 of clouds, before sundown, we undoubtedly struck a rapid current that carried us north- 
 east, and after we had traveled in this current about an hour, we probably struck an- 
 other current, from the variation of our altitude, which bore us off to the northwest, for 
 the place where we landed is about 30 miles west of due north from where went up. 
 
 When we first descended to near the earth, and saw lights and he.ird doi^s barking, (p. 
 6,) we she)uld have landed. But we were unwilling to land at night in a deep wood, 
 ever»though we knew that inhabitants were near by, and we thought it best to pick out 
 a better place. This was our error ; and it came near being a fatal one to us — it was 
 certainly so to the balloon. In trying to find our " better place " to land, we were uj) 
 longer than we supposed, and as we were traveling in a current that bore us off to the 
 northward at the rate of loo miles an hour, we soon reached a point beyond the confines 
 of civilization. 
 
 Jno. a. Hauuuck. 
 
i 
 
li,';! 
 
 «'!.\f 
 
 i'l|'''ililfi|i|i' 
 
 1 
 
 iiiii; 
 
 iiiiiiiii'ii 
 
 !' M 
 
 Jii'ii 
 
 I fe: 
 
 
 try , 
 iiili!'|ife.i 
 
 ill!' ■ ■' 
 
 l| III: 
 
 il 111 
 
 ;i: 
 
 ,!lill:i|i|;Ki 
 
 ''ii:ii:' : 
 
 l,i|,i„!M: 
 
 
■il Itttfltl 
 
 
 u 
 
 i2 
 
 < 
 
 X 
 
 ■Ji 
 
 i 
 
%r\\iy I 
 
 
 11/ 
 
 ■III: 
 
 , kfm 
 
 t'f'i. 
 
 il'llllllli' II 
 
 
 I'll I 
 
 :i: 
 
 m^ 
 
 ^ 
 
,f'><r