Show LOST balloonist APPEARS OUT OF BARREN WASTE IN CANADA tells story of terrific battle W with ith elements sault ste marle mich blown across lake erie and into the wilds of ontario in a balloon milford vanik twenty five of cleveland fought his way through swamp and forest after landing in a tree top to dean lake ont vanik took oft off from cleveland at on a thursday in a try for a pilots license and was not heard beard from again until the following monday it had bad been feared he had been forced i dolln lake erie by a storm which rag edIn in his path and search was made of its surface arriving here on his way back to cleveland varick vanak told of being buffeted by the storm of being swallowed up by fog and a desperate fight to avoid being swamped on lake huron when the balloon settled to the surface of the wind t tossed ossed water 1 I left cleveland at in the evening with the wind blowing toward the northwest at ten miles per hour vanak said in ili ten mini minutes ites I 1 was over edgewater park and out over lake erie I 1 kep hept t my location until 1 I passed parsed over sarnia at 1230 a in friday F that was the last time I 1 saw lind land until I 1 cane came down six hours later after passing sarnia which I 1 recognized by the lake trade I 1 was above el the clouds at 1000 feet fog closed in ili about me and I 1 had absolutely no conception of direction or speed then it started to rain and finally it changed into anto sn snow ow it was the most terrible blizzard I 1 ever was in lee ice formed on the basket the bag became so heavy it was brought low and I 1 continually lost ballast la in an effort to keep above the clouds I 1 came down to 1500 feet and the snow and lee ice which had formed on the bag fell off the balloon shot up to feet from then on it was like that five runs costing me ten bags of ballast vanik said after hours of buffeting about in the blizzard he came down through a toot foot strata of clouds about friday morning and found water everywhere ever where then came his hii frantic efforts to reach land As I 1 carne came down through the clouds I 1 heard aheard a roar b below elow me I 1 tho thought aught it was a train but when I 1 got below the clouds I 1 found it was waves roaring on the surface of the lake I 1 could see no land nothing but water 1 I saw a little island and let out my drag drab rope to cut down my speed which was as about 35 miles per hour the rope ropa dragging in the water pulled the bag down with a slap alap on the surface and bounced it back up into the air like a rubber ball fearing it would be wrecked I 1 cut the drag rope and the balloon shot up to feet in nothing flat vanak then came down through the clouds and saw an area of islands water and peninsulas in northern northera georgian bay 1 I threw out my two remaining bags of ballast in an effort to get as far inland as possible I 1 kept losing altitude over the country that was the most godforsaken god forsaken I 1 have ever seen the basket struck a tree and then others until about twenty were knocked over like tenpins ten pins finally the bag hung upon a tree with the basket about six sit feet from the ground I 1 cut the basket loose with my knife I 1 spent all 0 friday there and slept that night in the basket it was cold along about three in the morning I 1 heard something outside I 1 looked out and saw what I 1 first thought was a police dog I 1 called thinking its master would be near it turned toward me and I 1 saw it was a wolf the next day I 1 walked and walked night came on I 1 struggled along in the darkness Ss and into tho the next day sunday som sometimes e times through swamps swamp 5 and slash ings then below me I 1 saw a road I 1 struggled down to it and fell exhausted A farmer picked me up and took me to his home at patton near blind river I 1 stayed there overnight wired my mother in the morning and am now on my way home vanak though suffering from scratches sc rat hes and bruises br u aises and a wrenched enc bed leg said he felt fine and aad had suffered no serious III effects |