Home › Contents › Dangers of the Descent-The Balloon Drifting
Dangers of the Descent-The Balloon Drifting
and the Balloon was soon lost sight of. Mount Vernon, got up, as he says, and A period of more intense wretchedness went out upon his porch " to see the blazto the parental heart can scarcely be ing star" -the comet. An immense imagined. spectre, rising from a tree about twenty As there was little wind, the Balloon yards distant, rather appalled him, and had gone almost directly upward, till its he re-entered the house and waked his disappearance in a southeasterly course. family. On his coming out again, a weak Messengers were despatched through the and piteous voice called to him from the region in every direction, and the alarm spectre, "Come here and let us down; we spread rapidly, creating everywhere the are almost frozen!" Mr. Atchison speed. The ily perceived the astonishing nature of grapnel, which fell from the car. the case, mustered help, cut away several rope which held the car in position being limbs of the tree, and drew the car in severed, the Balloon commenced rising, safety to the ground. and swept along several rods but a short distance from the ground.
The little boy was first lifted out, and when placed upon his feet instantly ran The grapnel was dragged along the for several yards, then turned, and, for a sward, and just as the Balloon began rismoment, contemplated the Balloon with ing rapidly, the rope caught two young apparently intense curiosity. The little lads about the hips, and they were quickly girl told their sorrows and adventures borne from the ground. The excitement with an almost broken heart to these of the bystanders at the appearance of the people, who, strangely indeed, had not boys in their awful situation was intense, heard of the disaster. and for a moment it seemed as if the little The happy result was received in Cen- fellows were about meeting with a territralia, and announced on Sunday morn- ble fate. ing in the churches amid ecstasies of joy.
The children were brought there on Monday, and welcomed with the firing of cannon and a general jubilee. They shouted loudly for assistance, and their appeals were caught up by the crowd and swelled into one agonizing cry, which attracted the attention of Mr. Col- Moore's Prairie, the locality at which lard. Looking over the side of the car, the descent was thus safely accomplished, and seeing the boys suspended by the is about seventeen miles from the place rope, he cut it with a knife, and the lads of starting, and forty from Centralia. Mr. fell into a large tree, which broke the Brooks, the aëronaut, immediately on force of their descent, and saved them hearing of the descent of the children, from an awful destruction. At the time of their fall the Balloon had hastened to their home, and attempted to ascertain the length of the time that they reached an altitude of about fifty feet, and had spent in the air. His conclusion was although they were considerably injured that they were up about three and a half by the concussion, they both recovered hours, and that they must have ascended from the effects of their singular advenat least four and a half miles before com- ture. mencing to come down.
During our late Civil War, the part An Appalling Dilemma. which the Balloon played was an import- Among the festivities announced for ant one. The Government conferred the the Fourth of July, 1868, by the munici- title of aëronautic engineer upon Mr. pal authorities of New Bedford, Mass., Allan, of Rhode Island, who originated was a grand Balloon ascension by Mr. the idea of communicating by a tele- George Collard, of Boston. A large num- graphic wire from the Balloon to the camp. ber of spectators assembled to witness The first telegraphic message which was the entertainment, and every precaution transmitted from the aërial regions is was used to prevent accident, either to that of Professor Love, at Washington, to the President of the United States. The States. the aëronaut or the company.
As Mr. Collard was about starting on following is this despatch: "Sir: The his aërial flight, the guy by which the Bal- point of observation commands an extent Joon was held became entangled with the of nearly fifty miles in diameter. The (282)