Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1842-10-20
MI SC8l2I a n 80
BALLooNING EXTRAORDINARY.

I 4 y.
, damng .eat was accomplished on Satur
: day last, by citizen of our ncighboriny tow,
oil Hel'ysburg. Mr.. John Wise, the Ameri
eau 1h;onaut, par excellence, had announce,
his inieAtoa to make his 39ih Balloon Ascen
sion, on that day, from an enclosure;n Get;ys
Durg-ahd with his usual punc.ualty. wa
ready ON The dcy and hour promised. Iii.
balloon was inilated-his ballast, grapplin,
IRON, &c. duly slowed, and he was about te
step INTO the basket. A,,hat moment Mr. job,
hcCieiian, young gentleman OF GETTYSBURG
enquired of ar. Wise whether it would not b,
possible Tor tao pers ons to ascend with tho
power then iii the balloon. On RECEIVING 3
negative reply Mr.. Mcclellan seemed much
isappointcd-said he was determined 10 have
ride, aud cnquired the price at which Mr.
wise would permit him 10 make the voyape
alone. 'Onc hundred dollars, Sir" said Mr..
WISE, who did not appear TO consider him to
DC Ill earnes. Il Will give YOU fifty dollars ;,
'agrcod-sorh it ovcr' The Joke was car
RED on and the cream of it was soon trans
ierrcd to the pocket of the Eronaut-and his
substitute was snugly seated in the car, voci-
'eratlng his erection TO 'cut loose' Mr.. Wise
thought that matters had now gone far ENOUGH.
aud requested his customer 10 get out. as The
time had arrived at which he had promised 10
be OIL But he refused to do so, and insisted
that lie had regularly hired ndpaid for pass
age Sin his boat" and go lie would. As Bar
ney ORearden said to the snan in the moon
where the latter respectable parsonage toldhim
20 lave his hould,' THE more he bid him.
the more he wouldntn
Mr Wise thsn let his balloon ND shor,
distance by rope, thinking probably, that as
there was considerable wind. and the air horse
consequently turbulent, that his substitute
woeid have his courage cooled and give in
Out this was no go-ard thinking thai he had
as good Il start as ever he could have. MIR. Nc
Cieilan cut The ropc-a9d scQS oG! After
he had found that it was the determination of
Nr. Mcclellan to 20, Mr. Wise had but time
TO give him a few hasty and imncrfec, instruc-
lions IN regard TO the management of the bal
ioon-and IN few minutes the DARING ana
ieurTronaut had assembled 10 a beirbi of a.
bout two miles. Here he struck current of
ar, which bore him directly towards York
lie says that the earth receded from him very
rapidly alter he had thrown bag or two of
sand upon it-that Gettysburg passed off to-
ward liagerstown, and that he saw Carlisle.
Turnover, Abbottstown, Oxford, and Berlin
s'roliing about-and soon after inst ahead of
hiIn, he saw Old Y OK coming full tilt nm The
turnpike toward him, apparently taking am
afternoons walk TO Gettysburg.
Having determined 10 stop at York. and
tearing from the remarkable speed at which
our usually slaid and sober town was travel
ing, that she would pass under his balloon.
ana give Inn the slip, he pulled the strino at
Iached TO the safety valve, in order to let or Il
portion of the gas. This valve is so construct
ell, that when the rope is pulled, the valve o.
pens TO the interior and again closes by the
force OF the gas when the rope is let 20. I'm
fortunately, however, the ineXpericncee nronaut
pulled too violently at the valve rome. tore the
valve door completely off its hinges, and
brought 1t down into the car! When this oc-
Cured he was more than mile hiph. and he
Immediately and with fearful rapidly descend
ed, or rather fell 10 the earth When the valve
door came of the gas Of course cscapad ra-
pidly, but lhe balloon caught sufficient air 10
form parachute, ty which the fall was mod
eEated-aAd we are happy TO say that the vow
ager reached the earth about FIVE miles frou,
DIRK, entirely uninured He saws thai rs
soon as the valve door came down upon him.
he knew that something had broke loose and
just then remembering Iha! Mr. Wise had told
MN to be sure when he descended TO throw
o't ms graphing IRON, he was preparing TO ret
at 1t among the numerous things in tho basket.
/ when The earth boHnc lap against the bottom,
Of the car y
When first seen from Y DIRK, the balloon was
about Is miles of, nearly due West. II an
Peared to be approaching directly toward our
town, until the valve was pulled and it had
fallen considerably. As 1t fell, it seemed &c
find current that bore 1t rapidly toward the
North The spot at which it landed is abou
North West of our borough.
The escape of the gas was distinctly seer
from ork; and as the balloon ncared III,
earth 1t had lost lis rotundity and appeared tt
The gazers here to come down heavily like
wet sheet York Gc:euc.