The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 26, 1851.

A MONTGOLFIER BALLOON ON FIRE. '

DISTURBANCE AT BRADFORD.
The Bradford Cricket Ground was the centre of
extraordinary attraction on Monday last. In conse-
quence of the day being a general holiday, and still
further on account of the weather being remarkably
fine, the crowds of sight-seers and lovers of the mar-
vellous and perilous were swollen to an extent alto-
gether unprecedented. By advertisement and placard,
and still more by oral communication, it bad been
made known to the entire population of the town and
neighbourhood that Mr. C. 11. Brown, a young man
from the establishment of Messrs. Thornton, Firth,
Ramsden, and Co., intended to hazard the danger of
the most fickle of all elements, and to travel whitherso-
ever the winds might carry him, in a Mongolfier bal-
loon. It was announced that the ascent would take
place at four o'clock ; but long before that time anx-
ious crowds of persons might be seen wending their
way from every quarter to the appointed place. It
has been said that 30,000 persons were assembled on
the occasion. The balloon was composed of strong
unbleached cloth, or light canvas, lined throughout
with a tough and light paper, intended to
prevent the escape of the rarefied air through
the outer material. Two poles had been fixed
in the earth at opposite points of a circle
made of ropes extended on posts ; and from the
tops of the two poles a cord went across, from the
centre of which the balloon was suspended. About
five o'clock Mr. Brown and another person or two
crept under the balloon, the side of which touched
the ground, entirely secluding the car, the stove, and
hiding from public view the entire operations going
on inside. It was a long time before the machine
began to swell, and, meanwhile, disappointed hopes
found plaintive utterance, mingled with boastful self-
gratulations on the part of those who had previously
predicted failure. In a few minutes, clouds of dense
black smoke issued from the rolling monster. These
cleared away, and hearts again beat light! Alas
more smoke, thicker, blacker, longer continued ;
then a blaze ; and, instead of a fire balloon in the
clouds, with one man in it, there was a balloon on
fire, driven by the winds across the fields, amidst
loud peals of laughter, and some thousands of men
after it 1

When the balloon was fairly in a blaze, the crowds
of persons outside the cricket-ground, excited beyond
restraint, could no longer be kept in order. En masse
they forced the doors, scaled the walls, and in a very
few minutes not a blade of green grass could be seen
for the swarming mass of men and women, but chiefly
men, who crowded the scene of destruction. The
balloon was drifted by the winds, blazing magnifi-
cently, and in the course of its destruction was di-
vided into several pieces, around which eager throngs
might be seen striving to extinguish the flames, that
that they might bear away relics of the prize.
A very rough though harmless struggle took
place for these half-consumed fragments. But
the debris of the balloon very far from con-
tented the relic-mongers, and in a few mo-
ments the posts, ropes, hoop (the car was burnt),
scaffold poles, and whatsoever else pertained to the
matter, were in the hands of the mob. The excite-
ment grew more intense; parties of men and boys
seizing and extending a rope or a pole, swept the
crowded field before them, many of its occupants be-
ing now more anxious to get out than they were be-
fore to get in. The means of exit were altogether
inadequate, whilst the number of persons endeavour-
ing to escape and to enter at the same time resulted
in a general melee. The police then interfered, and
took a considerable number of persons into custody
who were engaged in the disturbance. These per-
sons were brought before the Mayor and other magis-
trates on Tuesday, and were fined in various sums,
according to their participation in the riot.
Mr. Brown (who was present at the request of
Mr. Leveratt), then stated, in reply to the interroga-
tories of the Mayor, that he had never tried any ex-
periment of this kind before on a smaller scale; but
observed that the experiment had been made in the
usual manner ; the first balloon voyage ever made
was in a balloon of this description, and hundreds of
such balloons had ascended in France with perfect
safety ; that the balloon was made of linen and
paper; that he had a serious intention of ascending
if he could have got off; that the brother of a young
man who had intended to accompany him had as-
cended in such balloons nine times; that the had
heard many parties had made wagers that the balloon
would not go off, and he was told that some person,
perhaps interested in the betting, had cut a large
hole in the balloon, which was a principal cause of
the failure. He further said that the receipts at the
door were 311. 12s. 7d., that the cost of the balloon
itself was 20/., and that he was 31. or 4/. out of
pocket.
The Mayor would not say it was a decided hoax,
but there did not seem anything like a serious in-
tention of going through the air. He would recom-
mend Mr. Brown to try experiments on a limited
scale before he tried them on a larger scale, because
the failure i❑ this instance had led to a great disturb-
ance. He hoped, also, that those who occupied the
Cricket-ground would not let it for such purposes
hereafter, inasmuch as it was stated to be a nuisance
to the whole neighbourhood on such occasions.