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Show MEN MAY HAVE PERISHED' IN MOUNTAINS IN MIDST OF Walloon Has Not Been Seen Since It Disappeared Through Clouds in Grand Canyon On Slope of Mount Low Two Searching Parties Organize at Pasadena and Go In Quest of Unfortunate Ealloonists j Los Angeles, March 22. Up to 9 o'clock this forenoon no word bad come from the big balloon, "America," J which ascended from Tournament park j In Pasadena at 3 o'clock, Saturday afternoon af-ternoon with Capt. M. K. Muller" and five other men in the basket, an. I thero 1h a strong probability that tho men havo perished In the mountain In the midst of the terrible blizzard that has ben raging there since early Sunday morning. The last trace of tho balloon was seen when It disappeared through tho clouds In Grand Canyon on the slope of Mount Ix)wc. The big bag containing contain-ing 7C.00O cubic feet of gas was being driven then by a strong north wind towards to-wards the peaks of the range. i One of the worst storms In years Is ' raging in the mountains. Four feet of snow ha3 fallen on Mount Wilson and nearly two feet at Mount Ixwo. I All day jesterday a terrific blizzard raged, the wind attaining a high velocity. ve-locity. Tho whole side of the mountain moun-tain Is covered with many feet of snow, the canyons are filled and the trails are obliterated. It would be Impossible for the men to make their way any distance In the present snow storm. They have with them only a meagre supply of provisions pro-visions and but little warm clothing, I Two searching parties were organ- ! ized early today from Pasadena and will go Into the'mountalns at once. Every point In tho mountains that could be reached has been communicated communi-cated with, but no trace of the balloon has been found. It is barely possible that the wind may have shirted and carried the men away from the moun- j j tain to some remote locality where I they have been unable to get into communication with the city. There is also a possibility that the men have landed in the mountains near souio habitation which they reached Sn sale- . ty, and have since been unable to 1 make their way out, or coramunlcaw , with the city. . I Besides Captain A. IS. Mueller, the i rllt, the party In the balloon includes. Lane C. Gillian, a prominent mining I man, formerly of Walla Walla, Washington, Wash-ington, now of Pasadena. I Richard Halsted. of Pasadena. Sydnoy Cray, Pasadena, j Harold Parker, Pasadena, i F. C. Dodshutz, Pasadena. Captain Mueller Is tho only experienced expe-rienced aeronaut In the party, but he has passed through so many peni3 that confidence Is felt that he will j bring the men with him back safely. Mueller, in July, last year, particlpatci I in the international race at Chicago, where, in his balloon, he descended In I Lake Michigan and was dragged tor I miles across the lake, narrowly escap- Jng with his life. Later, In October, he made an ns- i cension from Columbus, O., and landed in Niagara canyon, where he wa3 dragged over a rough country Tor some distance, sustaining broken ribs and other Injuries. A couple or montns ago. he ascended with an assistant pilot in thl6 city and made a night, to Ehrensburg, Ariz., across the Colorado Colo-rado river, where he was brought up in the middle of the desert after beini draggod through cactus and sage- j brush for some distance. Owing to the heavy load which th-9 I "America" carried, it Is not thougnt possible that the balloon succeedod in clearing the throe ranges or mountains and gaining the Mojavc desert to tho i.oithward. Tho bag ascended Trom tho ground with but twenty sacks of sand as ballast bal-last and several of the bags wero emptied, in order to gain a higher altitude alti-tude as the balloon reached Mount Lowe, above Pasadena. With but lilt Id sand left after gaining the summit of the first range, and tho cold weather weath-er prevailing, which would have had the effect of condensing tho gas m the bags and lessening its lifting power, pow-er, it la more than likely that Mueller trlod to bring the balloon to cartu somewhere Irf the v mountains early Sunday night. j |