|
|
Cornugaya Directory 07
Page 10
I heard at that place an extraordinary account of how a dirigible
balloon, with nobody on board, had some few years before passed over the
house. The balloon--which my informant, in his ignorant language, called
a "huge square globe"--flew, according to him, a flag, the stars and
stripes, and had an anchor dangling down. The balloon was travelling in a
westerly direction. It flew a little higher than the trees, and caused a
great scare among the natives. My informant told me that there was no one
in the car at all, but they waved their hands at him (_sic_) when they
passed over his house! He then told me that the air-ship had passed in
the daytime and had quickly disappeared, but that it was beautifully
lighted with coloured lights at night. So that it would be difficult from
that truthful account to place much reliance on what the man said or on
what he had seen at all. It is quite possible--after discarding all the
indisputable embroidery from the story--that a balloon actually went over
that place, and it may probably have been Wellman's abandoned balloon
with which he had tried to go across the Atlantic.
After the first day or two the voyage on the launch was tedious. One got
tired of the endless conversation and of listening to the bargaining. The
perpetual drinking which had to be witnessed was of little interest to a
teetotaller. One seldom saw money change hands, all being done by barter,
the merchandise we had on board being exchanged chiefly for rubber. Even
so far up the river civilization had well set in, and great caution was
needed in buying balls of rubber. It was advisable to split them in two
before purchase, as they generally contained all kinds of rubbish instead
of pure coagulated latex.
|
