The Balloon Boy of Seattle
A 12-year-old boy is snatched into the sky after becoming entangled in a hot-air balloon's rigging, leading to a desperate mid-air struggle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A very exciting and thrilling incident occurred here this evening. Prof. R. H. Redmond was to make an ascension this evening in a hot-air balloon. Just as the large airship sailed away skyward, a lad about 12 years old, named Eddie Hall, became entangled in the ropes attached to the ship. His neck caught in a half-hitch, and the boy could not free himself. He clung desperately to the ropes with both hands, and by winding them around both arms managed to save himself from falling and from choking to death, and drifted miles away to the southeast. The airship was seven minutes in the air. It came down light as a feather, and the lad came down without a scratch. He was nearly scared to death, but recovered after finding himself safely on earth again. Professor Redmond did not go up at all; if he had, his weight would have choked the boy to death. When he saw how the lad was caught, he let go of the ropes and remained on the ground. The ascension was witnessed by over two thousand people, and great excitement prevailed during the time the balloon was in the air.
“He clung desperately to the ropes with both hands, and by winding them around both arms managed to save himself from falling and from choking to death.”
While this 1888 incident sounds like a tall tale, it captures the era’s fascination with daredevil spectacle and public risk—a stark contrast to modern-day safety standards in the local aviation industry. Seattle still maintains a love for unconventional aerial displays, even as the city’s skyline has replaced open fields with skyscrapers.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.