Villagers Saw U.S. Balloonist As Monkey God

Adventurer Steve Fossett packed up his giant silver balloon in rural India on Tuesday, surrounded by villagers who had initially taken the American for a monkey god in a floating temple.

Most villagers had never seen a hot-air balloon until Monday, when Fossett’s landed in a mustard field at the end of a failed round-the-world attempt.

Many said they took the balloon for a floating temple and its pilot for a human incarnation of their monkey god Hanuman.

“We offered him pure cow milk and we were pleased that he took two sips,” villager Shayam Bahadur Singh said.

Fossett’s balloon drew so many curious villagers Tuesday that rural police - armed with World War II-vintage guns - were posted to protect it.

About a thousand men, women and children came from nearby villages. Some managed to slip around the three guards to touch the balloon.