The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-08-22 00:00:00

FATAL BALLOON ACCIDENT..

.....
Another balloon accident has taken place in the environs
of Paris. Two well•lmown aeronauts. U. Triquet and his
son, were to ascend in a balloon from Levallois-Perret,
near Asnieres, on the occasion of the village fete. The
expansion was not completed however at Mx o'clock in
the evening, and at that hour the rents in the silk of the
machine were so numerous and extensive that it was
with difficulty that it rose. After it had remained in the
air for in short time, the balloon was seen to descend
rapidly on the Plain of Montrouge, on the portion facing
Pontensy. When it had nearly reached the ground it
began to drive along in a horizontal direction. The
attempts of the occupants of the car to stop the progress
of the balloon tended to increase the distance from the
earth, and it hung wavering for some time out of the
I control of the aeronauts. It soon became evident that the
I silk had been torn by its contact with the trees and stones,
and that the fall of the balloon was only a matter of
I time, and suddenly it came down with great velocity,
I striking against one of those gigantic wheels attached to
I the stone •litarries of that district--the cradle of the car com-
ing with great violence against the sharp rocks that cover
the ground there. Without loss of time the two men were
rescued, but they were found in a lamentably mangled
condition. The son was dead, awl the father was insensi-
ble for 11011113 time. On returning to consciousness M.
Triquet aske•l what had bee •of his boy, while lie was
lying a .-orpse by his •ible. There are little hopes enter-
tained for the ultimate noovery of the survivor.

JOHN CHINAMAN AND OLD HARRY.
A curious panic has overtaken the native population in
many parts of China. The Chinaman sets a high valne on
his pigtail. It is to him what the sacred beanl ii to the
Turk. Some time ago in alarm was raised that many
head, were being deprived of this ornament in the most
mysterious fashion. At find, foreigners were suspected.
but thi theory was given up for a time when it was seen
that queues disappeared in places uncontaminated by the
presence of the outer barbarian. The firm eanriction now
is that the Evil One is responsible for the mutilation that
is going on. A letter from Hangchow gives an amusing
account of the state of terror into which the inhabitants
of that city have fallen. Pigtails have vanished there in
considerable numbers, and the people are having recourse
to m cry sort of stratgem for the preservation of the
cherished appendage. One device is to frighten off the
spirits by braiding a slip of yellow paper bearing mystic
characters in the queue. Others of • more practical turn
stow away the pigtail inside their coats. or, better still,
keep • firm hold of it while they were passing through the
streets. The scared creatures now recall a tradition that
in the reign of Tao K wang a similar phenomenon was
witnessed, with this difference, however, that it was the
feathered tribe, and not human !sings, who were then
operated upon. A chicken would be heard togive hystencal
expression to its feelings, and it would then be found that
the bird's wings had been clipped by some invisible hand.
The queues are going in the MUM way, and every one is
dreading a vomit from the agents of darkness. The
Chinese, we must presume, know nothing of the import-
ance to which human hair has attained as an article of
commerce.