The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-11 00:00:00

2HE INJURED AERONAU2S A 2
BUX 10N.

Mr. Coxwell, the distinguished aeronaut, and
the Messrs. Pearson, jun., of Lawton-hall, near
Congleton, are now progressing, we are happy to
say, towards complete recovery. It will be re-
membered that on August as a descent took place
during a violent wind, on the stone walled and
rocky locality near Brierlow tollgate, about two
and a half miles from Buxton. A valley favour-
able for alighting had been missed, owing to the
force of the wind, and the car not being over-
stocked with ballast, the voyagers found them-
selves skimming over the " backbone of England,"
the wild rugged surface of which is in every-
way objectionable for a balloon. Mr. Coxwell,
seeing no possible mode of evading a
rough landing, prepared for the- worst, and
placed his passengers in the safest possible posi-
tion, viz., at the bottom of either side of the basket,
where hand-ropes are placed by which to hold in
emergencies like this. • As the gra,pnel (a large
powerful instrument, 421 b.) trailed along the ground
it glided over the soil and tore down stone walls as
if there were no holding ground or material for
it to take effect in. The consequence was that the
car was brought down in contact with the walls,
the remedy was to exhaust the gas as quickly as
possible, and lessen the number of ;concussions. It
was here manifest that the experienced aeronaut
was equal to the occasion, as he peremptorily kept
his companions well down in the basket, and told
them that if they attempted to move or get out they
would be killed on the spot. Fortunately, Messri..
Pearson are remarkably endowed with what is styled
pluck, and they stuck to the ship and obeyed Mr.
Cox well's orders td 'the letter. It was now the
• critical moment—two or three severe bumps were
inevitable, the wind blowing in angry gusts, and the
car dashed through one wall pf about 18 inches in
thickness, making a clear breach, and hurling the
stones forward as if they had been pounded by the
largest Armstrong missile at present in use. Mr. Cox-
well was in full strain on the upper valve, which is 30
inches in diameter, but still the massi)ore oft Ward,
and a second clean breach was repeated in the next
wall. Away again with renewed vigour, and down
for the third time, and once again through another
wall, and now the cry was raised by astounded
lookers-on that two fields further lay the deep dale
or gorge, which would surely prove fatal. Happily,
the fourth wall having been dashed down, and
a considerable quantity of gas lost, the balloon itself
caught some ot the.stones, and tore from bottom to
top. Several countrymen, -especially the, sons of
the to/lbar-keeper, now rushed to the rescue. Mr.
Coxwell and Messrs. T. and A. Pearson were at
the bottom of the car covered with stones. All three
voyagers presented a sorry aspect ; their faces were
covered with blood ; but the aeronaut himself
retained his senses, and directed that they might
be taken out of the basket and placed on the grass,
and furnished with water. This done, Mr. Coxwell
inquired if there was any house near, 'and, finding
that the tollbar was close at hand, directions were
given for them-to be carried there. Air. Coxwell then
despatched a messenger for a conveyance to take
them to the Royal Hotel at Buxton' where they
arrived in due time and received the best medical
attention that could be procured. The injuries sus-
tained were—Mr. I'. Pearson, fracture of the skull ;
Mr. A-.' 'Pearson, injury to the head and broken
forearm; and Mr. Coxwell cut from head to foot,
with' a bad contused wound on the right thigh.
The injaries Mr. Coxwell had met with were not
considered at first dangerous ; but those sustained
by the other gentlemen extremely so. Dr Bennett,
of Buxton, in conjunction with Dr. Bullock, an
eminent practitioner of Congleton, took the cases in
hand, and have succeeded in setting the arm of Me.
A. Pearson, and in reducing the skull fracture 'of
his brother. Mr. Coxwell's case presented symp,
toms which showed deeper injuries than were
suspected to exist; the thigh was so bruised
and lacerated by an immense stone that the medical
gentlemen could scarcely comprehend how the bone
escaped fracture; erysipelas set in, and the case as-
sumed dangerous appearances, but the healing pro-
cess is now rapidly progressing, and all the suf-
ferers are doing well, and able to leave their beds.
This we believe is the first personal accident that
has ever befallen Mr. Coxwell out of nearly 400
ascensions. It is only an act of justice, supported
by the concurrent testimony of the invaiids, to speak
of the unremitting attention of Mr. and Mrs. Bates,
jun., to the balloon party ever since they came to
the Royal Hotel. It is gratifying also to observe
the general interest taken in behalf of the Messrs.
Pearson and Mr. Coxwell, and of the widely ex-
tended sympathy which has been felt for the un-
fortunate occurrence.—Buxton Advertiser.

CHARGE OF ATiBMPTING TO DE-
_MAUD THE WEST 111IDLAA _0 RAILWAY.

At the Dudley Police-court, on Monday, a man
named William Dainton, by trade a gardener, was
charged with attempting to obtain, by fraudulent
means, from the West Midland Railway Company
a sum of £6 10s. 6d. Mr. Maltby appeared for the
company, and Mr. G. B. Lowe defended the accused.
Mr. Maltby, in opening the case, said that he should
not he in a position to complete the ease that day;
but he proposed to call evidence that would warrant
the bench in remanding the prisoner. He should
show that on the 10th August last the prisoner was
travelling from Birmingham to Kidderminster,
where be had a situation under Dr. Thompson, of
Woodfield House, as gardener, and that upon arriv-
ing at Kidderminster he complained to the station-
master that he had lost a box. He afterwards
made a similar complaint to the station-master at
Dudley, and wrote to Mr. Roberts, traffic superin-
tendent. On the 25th August he sent in a claim
for £6 lOs 6d, together with a list of articles, which
he said the box had contained. From inquiries
made and information received, they resisted the
Claim, and caused an investigation to be made,
which ultimately resulted in the present charge. Mr-
Maltby then called Mr. Osborne, station-master at.
the West Midland station, Dudley, who deposed
—On the 24th or 25th of last month' I saw the
prisoner at the Dudley Station. He said, " Have
you found my box ?" I said that every possi'ale
inquiry had been made, but without success.
Prisoner said, " It is very strange ; the box must
have been stolen." He further said that the contents
were valuable, and that if the box was not forth-
coming in a few days he should charge the company
with it. I afterwards received information which.
induced me to visit the prisoner at Mr. Hudson's,
Birmingham. I there asked him to describe the box.
He said it was an old deal box, about a foot deep
by 18 inches wide, and he could tell by word of
mouth what it contained, He pulled out a list,
which he read; and which I copied in his presence.
The list was as follows :—One working tweed coat,
£1 10s ; one pair .of tweed trousers, 15s ; one pair of
black trousers, L.l; one black vest, 15s ; two. shirts, lOs ;• one scarf and two neckties, 7s 6d; one
pair f woman's boots, 9s 6d ; one pair of slippers,, 4s 6d ; razor strap, &c., 5s ; pair of gloves, 25.;
three pairs of stockings, 6s ; two flannels, ss.
He told me that the day he lost the box (10th Aug.)
he came from the Coach and Horses, Broad-street,
Birmingham, kept by Mr. Bayliss, and went to
Kidderminster. He told me that he took the box
from Mr. Bayliss's to the New-street station. I
asked him if he took it into the carriage with him,
or gave- it in charge to the guard. He Said he
gave it in charge of the guard. I then asked him.
what he did with thebox when he came to Dudley,
and he said he took it up the gallery, and Some gen-
tleman proffered to assist him round with the box.
I then asked for that gentleman's name and address.
He said he did not. know him, he dropped on him
very " promiscuously," and he appeared to be a com-
mercial traveller. Mr. Hudson was present while
thiS conversation took place. Mr. Lowe said he
should not cross-examine on this. occasion. An
opportunity would be afforded him at the adjourned
hearing.• This having been agreed to Mr: Maltby
called John George Bayliss, landlord of the Coach
and. Horses, Pintold-street, New-street, Birming-
ham, who said-I know the prisoner. He came to
my house on the 10th of August. He left between
six and seven o'clock in the evening. I had no con-
versation with him about a situation that day, and
I did not see him leave. One of my waitresses came
fo the bar fora parcel that I had of his. The par-
cel contained a pair of slippers wrapped in brows
paper. I objected to let the parcel go, as the pri-
soner owed me 3s 6d. I lent him 3s 6d about
a week before. He said he had got a situation
at Kidderminster. I never saw any box whilst he
was at my house. He left a hamper at my house on,
the 10th of August, but I cannot say what the
contents were, except by hearsay. I sent the ham-
per and slippers to Kidderminster when the 3s. 6d.
I had lent him had been. paid. I put the address
on the box that the prisoner had sent me, but I
cannot remember that address, If the prisoner had
been in possession of a box I shOuld have known it.
The letters bearing the daies of August 22, 25 (with
list enclosed), and 29, and one, not dated, on the
back of a company's letter dated Sept. 2, I believe
to be in the prisoner's handwriting, - John Henry
Roberts-, traffic supbrintendent of a division on the
West Midland Railway, said—l received the letter
no% produced, dated Aug. 25, by post. It contains
a claim for £6 10s, 6d. The case was at this stage
adjourned till Monday next, the bench agreeing to
take two sureties in £2O, and prisoner's own in £4O
for his appearance.